Road to be a Pokemon Master
by Writer under training
Summary: Ash is determined to be a Pokemon Master. But he's quite far away from that ordeal. He is offered help to be groomed for the World Champion's League. Will Ash choose this new route that could make him the Pokemon Master? Pairings: Multi Ash Shipping.
1. The Man who Abandoned Us

**Author's Note: **This story has been written to clear my writer's block. It is not my main project, and an experimental one to test how well I could write in First Person. So I may constantly make a mess with the tenses, but hey you people will correct me right?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokémon, and like my most people say: I wish I did.

**Assumptions: **As any fan fiction on Pokémon, there are a few things I as an author customized for the sake of reality. It would take one year for Ash to travel a region(including the filler stuff like Battle frontier) so Ash aged by five years. The age assumptions that matter are as follows: Ash 15, Misty 16, May 14, Dawn 13, Brock 18, Cilan 17, Iris 16, Max 10, Delia 33.

The world differs from other world: Legend of the Dark Prince at the fact that Giovanni is not Ash's father in this story. But yes if you really like Gio to be his dad, check out the other story. Another assumption: Ash gets to the finals in the Unova League(lol I know its kinda impossible)

**Special Thanks: **SailorChronos1 for his Beta Work. I really appreciate the help.

~*~ **1. ****Man Who Abandoned Us** ~*~

(Beta: SailorChronos1)

'_You have twenty-four hours to consider your decision. If you want to be a Pokémon Master, I can make it happen. But the way you are now, you don't stand a chance.'_

The words kept ringing in my ears. Who did that man think he was? I didn't care if he was a veteran Pokémon trainer, but saying that I didn't stand a chance was ridiculous. He didn't even accept my challenge to battle!

That's right, he's scared. He's scared to lose to me. I haven't won a Pokémon League yet but I believe in my strength. I believe in my Pokémon, so I am sure that old man won't stand a chance against me. But—

The truth was, I was scared. The World Champions League was the ultimate stage for deciding a trainer's fate. It was held once every ten years, and I really wondered if I was ready. I believed that all my Pokémon were powerful, but the fact was that I couldn't win the Unova League, not to mention I was overwhelmed by Tobias in the Sinnoh League. Did I really have a chance? How much could I improve in just one year?

A soft touch brought me to reality. I looked down and noticed the yellow paws on my hand, that I had curled into a fist out of frustration.

"Pikapi?" My number one partner seemed to be worried about me. He must have realized what was going through my mind. Just like always. Even after five years I couldn't fully understand his language, but I could understand what was in his mind just by looking into his face. I guess the opposite was true too, because I was still not sure if Pokémon fully understood human language. I stopped wondering about it at some point, I guess. Did that mean I was growing up? I didn't know but a lot of people around me used to say I needed to grow up in some aspects. The problem was, none of them said what these 'aspects' were that I needed to grow up on. They simply sighed and said that I was naïve. I guess something was really wrong with me when almost everyone said that.

"Ash?" A soft familiar voice gathered my attention. It was Mom, with a sweet smile like always. But I knew she was a bit worried this time. I could see the hint of sorrow she was hiding behind the smile.

I looked away as soon as my gaze met hers. I knew what she was going to talk about, and I was in no mood to discuss something like that. I had enough things to worry on my plate already. Namely, the Champions League in one year.

She sat down beside me, where Pikachu had been sitting. The Pokémon took it as an opportunity and snuggled between my hands, and curled himself into a sleeping position.

"Look," she said in a calm voice. There were very few instances like this. I hardly ever got mad at my mom. She was a sweet woman, and constantly supported my decisions to travel to farther regions, even if she was worried sick about me. She didn't even ask me to call day after day like May's mom did. "I understand all of this is really sudden, but you must forgive him."

"I won't," I jumped to my feet, startling Pikachu awake. It was irritating how she kept supporting him, even now. Well all right, that's fine by me, but there's no way in hell she should expect the same from me.

"Ash, why don't you just think about it a little?" Her voice bordered on a pleading tone. It irked me more. Why was she pleading for him? If anything, he should come and talk to me, not send her. "He's your—"

"I can't!" I yelled. I didn't look at her, but I know her face turned pale. That man, he made me yell at her. She wouldn't cry. She was my mom, she was very strong, and Professor Oak said I'm like her too, but I knew she was very hurt. I couldn't stay in the room any longer.

I took two furious steps and pulled the door open as if to break it from its hinges, and exited my bedroom. The living room was filled with people, and all of them had their eyes set on me. I didn't know what went through their brains, sympathy or anger whatever it could be, I didn't care. Once again I dashed for the door. I hated it when people saw me like this.

"Ash!" May exclaimed, or was it Dawn? I simply didn't care, but I am pretty sure Brock might have stopped them.

* * *

Dawn was somewhat disappointed. She had come all the way from Sinnoh to greet Ash and congratulate him on reaching top 8 in the Unova League, but the meeting ended up being a disaster. Not that it was his fault.

She regarded the people around. They all might be feeling the same, she noted. Misty slumped on the couch, playing with what looked like a keychain. May was observing the Ketchum residence's décor, which wasn't that impressive. Then again, Dawn's mother spent too much on stuff like that, so it was natural for her to feel that way.

Cilan attempted to open his mouth twice, but Iris glared him into shutting up. Cilan liked to speak his mind, and that too in a fanciful manner. Perhaps Iris was worried that those not acquainted with them might take it the wrong way.

Brock sat beside her, equally silent. He was the one who suggested that Misty stop when she tried to call Ash earlier. The poor boy didn't even notice them. From what she knew he could even be crying, although she felt that a boy crying would be weird.

Of course the source of all this tension, and the reason they were all quiet, was sitting right across from her along with Professor Oak.

How long would this continue? Mrs. Ketchum must be crying inside. Ash was sulking somewhere else. The person responsible was simply eating cookies, indifferent. Yeah, he looked indifferent.

"I think I rubbed him the wrong way," he scratched his chin. "He's too much of a girl though." The same man then had to regret what he said, because the majority of the female population of the room glared at him, including herself.

"Alex, you do realize how much impact you have on him?" Even the ever-jovial Professor Oak (whom she adored for his poems) put on a stern face.

"Fine, fine," the man finally raised his arm slightly as if to accept that he was guilty, although his face still remained somewhat jovial. Perhaps it was a mask, much like how she constantly told people 'No need to worry.'

* * *

The river streamed down, reflecting the calm wind that gently brushed my hair. The sky slowly turned violet as the sun dipped toward the distant horizon. A couple of Rattata skipped around, chasing each other. The occasional Magikarp launched itself up as far as it could into the sky before returning to the water.

Something about this scene always soothed my heart. Made me forget the burning injuries. I was not alone: my little yellow partner sat beside me as always, enjoying the scenery as much as I did. I had noticed when we arrived that he was really worried. He put on a sullen face because I was depressed, and even tried to comfort me. I should perhaps try to mask my feelings, even if it's for him. It was kinda annoying when he put on that face whenever I did.

"Pikachu," I pulled him closer. Every time I got in trouble, I realized more that he was a valuable partner that I could never lose.

"Just like your mom," a gruff voice came from behind. I didn't need to take a second guess at who was behind me. I remained quiet. He didn't deserve my attention.

But of course, the silence seemed like an invitation to him. He sat down beside me on the lush grass, pretending nothing had happened earlier. I took a glance to my right; not that I cared for him, but if somebody sat beside you, you would at least throw a glance.

Until then I hadn't noticed how tall he was. I was fifteen, and I barely was few inches above five foot. But even in a sitting position like this he was at least half a foot above me. Not to mention he was strongly built too. The muscles somehow reminded me of Stephan's Sawk. Maybe Bianca might like him.

"Do you know how I met your mother?" he asked. I remained silent; I didn't care. But he didn't seem to notice. "She sat here, sulking just like you. The Professor scolded her for something about mishandling a Pokémon. She didn't cry though; what a tough one. I was trying to fish for a rare Pokémon so that I wouldn't need to wait until I turned ten. I was really impatient. That's how we met."

Uggh. Why was he telling me all this? Should I openly tell him I didn't care? But hey, that last part seemed too familiar. "Did you catch anything?" I asked. I know I hated myself for asking that, but I couldn't help ask it.

The older man was slightly surprised by the question. His lips pursed, "No."

A sudden silence stood between us. Maybe I shouldn't have asked the question. Had I made him mad?

Then he suddenly dropped the shoe. "Let's battle, Ash."

I involuntarily held my breath for a second. Hadn't he blatantly refused my challenge earlier? "Y-You will battle me?" I stammered.

"Yes." He smirked. "If you lose, then you should accept my proposal."

My eyebrows drew together in a sharp frown. It wasn't fair. But hey, if I declined his challenge then it meant I was accepting my defeat. No way in hell I would do that. Because I was Ash Ketchum, and there was no way I would lose to some annoying man who dared to think he was better than me.

"Sure." I smirked confidently.

* * *

**Annoying Rambling from the author: **This is a short chapter. (if you are aware of my standards) Yes because I wanted to just start it. It's annoying that I have ideas but my brain is scared to put them out.

Also Ash might look a bit OOC, but I believe he would seem so because this is a situation you wouldn't face in the anime itself. But as the story progresses I will try my best to keep him in his shoes. Showing Ash's naivete in his own narration might be difficult but I will do my best! I would also be grateful if any of you could find a story with Ash in first person, just show me to it!

In addition I kept things very vague this chapter, but I didn't waste framing the situation because it would just be a boring read to you guys.


	2. Ketchum versus Ketchum

~*~ **2****.** **Ketchum versus Ketchum** ~*~

"Is this really okay?" May raised her concern. Currently she was in a group comprised of Brock, Cilan, Iris, Misty, Dawn, Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak—which was basically everyone gathered to celebrate Ash's resounding success before his father decided to suddenly drop by after ten years. They were on their way to watch what the father and son were up to.

"While I understand Mr. Ketchum coming back is a wonderful occasion," Brock said, mostly referring to Delia when he said so. "I find his behavior inappropriate. I am worried what Ash and he are doing right now."

"Well, I actually thought Ash would be happy," Dawn added, her face slightly down, as if it were her own father who returned after a long gap.

"Me too," May agreed with Dawn. She wondered if she and Max could ever hold back from suffocating the Petalburg gym leader with their hugs if her father were to disappear and return like that.

"Not every father would drop in suddenly and ridicule your achievements." Professor Oak retorted, "Not when they just met after ten years." The old Professor took an exasperated sigh.

"Professor Oak," Mrs. Ketchum spoke, somewhat weak, "You pretty well know he didn't mean it in the wrong way."

"But it is still a harsh flavor on Ash's pure heart," The green haired Cilan finally spoke up earning an awkward stare from everyone but Dawn and Iris.

May noticed that Iris was constantly trying not to let him speak. In fact she was currently glaring at him for daring to open his mouth. Judging by the little he spoke, and how Iris wasn't allowing him to speak, May came to a conclusion that Cilan was somewhat of a homosexual. His actions only supported her supposition. She felt a tinge of sympathy for Iris at that moment.

* * *

"So you are ready?" The guy who was supposed to be my loving father asked. There was a good amount of distance between us, enough for a Pokémon battle.

"I'm always ready," I returned confidently. That man deserved to lose for abandoning us for the past ten years. Not to mention, he insulted me. As if I need someone like him to help me out.

"It'll be a two-on-two affair," he shouted from the other end. "I believe one-on-one battles are bull shit. It's more like a game of luck."

"We could even have a full battle if you want," I suggested, with a somewhat haughty smile. If I could crush him in a six-on-six he wouldn't dare to spout nonsense about my skills for the rest of his life.

"Now don't get too carried away," His expression was nonchalant, as if he dealt with such comments on a daily basis. "You get the first call."

The battle has begun. My heart drummed with excitement. There was a tinge of unease in my stomach; it felt like Caterpie were crawling all over inside me. It was a sort of excitement I always get when I was about to battle someone I always wanted to. I knew my dad was an amazing trainer in Pallet when I was small, and I knew he would be a tough opponent to face. Well if he wants me to make the first call then so be it. I had already chosen the two Pokémon I wanted to battle him with. No type disadvantages or advantages would affect my choice.

My hands reached for the first Pokéball on my belt. Yes that would really be fun. I enlarged the Pokéball making the tiny object that fitted between my two fingers now firmly fit in my palm.

"It's been a while since I battled with you," I kissed the Pokéball. He was my precious friend and one of my first Pokémon. "Let's show that guy a thing or two, old buddy. Come on out—!"

* * *

"Bulbasaur!"

It was a distant scream, followed by the familiar pop noise of a Pokéball. Misty exchanged a glance with the rest of the group. They all seemed to have come to a similar conclusion. It seems the Ketchum's decided to solve the bitterness amongst them with a battle. It would normally give good results but Ash had a massive lump of ego on his head, which when pricked the wrong way could pave way to a disaster.

The group wordlessly rushed to the scene where the father and son were confronting each other, in the backdrop of a river and the setting sun. How poetic.

If anyone didn't know they were father and son then they would definitely know now, Misty thought. That because both of them wore a confident or better described a cocky smirk as if their victory was well assured.

"Uh oh," Professor Oak muttered under his breath. Would it be a bigger disaster than she thought?

"It seems your friends have come to support you. It will be really bad if you lose now." the older Ketchum nodded towards them. The smirk on Ash's face only grew wider. "But still—a Bulbasaur?" Mr. Ketchum's expression was somewhere between surprised and amused. "If you are to fight someone as strong as me you could have at least chosen a Pokémon that you have been trained for a long time."

The younger Ketchum scoffed, "Bulbasaur is one of my first Pokémon." The amused expression on the father's face slowly disappeared.

His eyebrows were now knit in a frown, "What do you mean? Then why the heck is it still a Bulbasaur?"

"Because he doesn't like to evolve," Ash replied curtly. He was going restless; the impatience in his eyes grew.

"What?" Mr. Ketchum put his face as if what he said now was the most stupid thing he ever heard.

"This is bad," Brock muttered.

She couldn't agree anymore. Things were taking a very bad turn, and the heat was only rising. Ash caught on his father's reaction, because his own expression turned serious, giving an 'annoyed' aura.

"Because he doesn't like to evolve," Ash repeated, but with a raised voice, as if to tell his father he heard it correctly the first time. The Pokémon under discussion, Bulbasaur and Ash's Pikachu turned to their trainer, noticing the change in his tone.

"_He?_" Mr. Ketchum closed his eyes. The word itself seemed to speak volumes to him. The air around them suddenly stiffened. A sweat drop descended down the old Oak standing before her, which he cleaned absent-mindedly out of habit. The downhill to their relationship seemed to get steeper and steeper with every second.

"Ridiculous." Mr. Ketchum's tone was filled with disappointment and anger.

The word had a significant effect on Ash's face than she expected.

* * *

Just how did he water down all the emotions I had for my Pokémon with one word?

Ridiculous?

Was forcing my Bulbasaur to evolve against his wishes a normal thing then? No, if anything should be called ridiculous, it was him. He abandoned me and my mom. Now he comes here after all these days and calls what I learnt ridiculous. _That _was ridiculous.

I had seen people who think otherwise and force their Pokémon to evolve, as if they were some furniture in your room that you can decorate or upgrade. At the least, I didn't expect my father to have the same kind of thinking. He could have been a terrible father, but in my mind I always imagined him as a hero.

My teeth were clenched tight. It was the most I could do from snapping up and retaliate.

"I don't know what the heck you did during these five years, Ash, but I won't be holding back on you, not even one bit." that man put a disappointed face as if I was a useless brat who couldn't even qualify for the League. I almost won the Unova League!

"That's what I want too," I replied. I took a glance to my right. My friends, the Professor and my mom were watching the battle. Of course I shouldn't lose to him, not in front of mom.

"Sure," he muttered and tossed his Pokéball. "Let's keep runnin' the stakes high, Rapidash!"

The fire type emerged out of the Pokéball, lifting its forelegs into the air, giving out its best battle cry.

"R-Rapidash…" The presence of that imposing fire type couldn't help but make splutter in response. It was majestic; the flames on its mane resembled a wild fire that could rage forests to ashes, which reminded me that my little guy was having a terrible type disadvantage.

The main source of my surprise was that I recognized the Pokémon in front of me. Rapidash was one of dad's Pokémon that I barely remember. He used to let me touch the Pokémon when I asked him to. Touching a Rapidash was a big deal to me back then.

"Beware of its speed, Bulbasaur," I warned. The bulb Pokémon nodded, determined. It has been a while since Bulbasaur battled by my side. I remembered how often I used to make him battle back then. Earlier when we were at the party, he almost pleaded me to come along. Professor gave him the day off to spend with me. What else could be better for our reunion than a battle? The zeal on his face couldn't be mistaken. I won't switch my Pokémon. "Let's go, buddy!"

The old man asked, "You're not going to switch?" I couldn't know if he was surprised or he's looking down on me. Switching out Bulbasaur would generally be the right thing to do but—

"You needn't tell me how to battle," I replied. I hate it when people look me down. "I'll make the first move. Go for a Vine Whip!"

Thick vines extended from each side of Bulbasaur's bud. The twin vines shot towards the horse like Pokémon. The first vine was shot faster to strike Rapidash. The said Pokémon took an easy short leap from the vine with relative ease. But of course the first vine was always a decoy for the second. The second vine immediately shot for Rapidash's legs as it landed. The fire type however proved to be faster. This time it took a longer leap to get momentarily away from the vine's range.

"Keep Attacking!" The attack gave me some momentum; I will put him under pressure. The whips again shot for the Pokémon, moving like snakes trying to strike Rapidash with a sharp sting. But hitting the Pokémon known for its speed was easier said than done. The cycle of attacks and dodges continued for three or four rounds. As every strike passed it seemed like we were getting closer to hit them and yet unable to close in the gap between the speed of the attack and the dodges. I couldn't just put him in a stalemate like this forever. I will just wait for the right moment and—

"Agility!" My trail of thought was broken by the sudden command. The vines tried to hit the Rapidash for another round, but the fire Pokémon disappeared from the vine's reach all of a sudden.

"What the—!" I exclaimed. The Pokémon reappeared almost instantaneously. It charged towards Bulbasaur at high speed, while disappearing and appearing between and outside the range of the extended vines. Within the blink of an eye it was only a few steps away from the bulb Pokémon.

The adrenaline shot a thunderbolt into my spine. "Use your vines and jump!" The words came out of my mouth instinctively. And just as reflexively, the extended vines were shot to the ground, causing the light weighted user to lift itself from the air.

The blur of orange and red skid past where Bulbasaur once stood, only to find the bulb Pokémon in the air, its face tilted downwards. The Rapidash skid itself to a stop, with a rough noise, raising the dust around.

"What in the name of Mew!" Its trainer exclaimed.

It was a perfect chance, I noted. Rapidash was still in a surprise from the sudden dodge, and Bulbasaur's bulb was facing Rapidash.

"Leech Seed! Shoot it!"

Bulbasaur, still in its air, huddled its four legs closer, causing the Pokémon to tilt a little. A brown inconspicuous seed emerged out through the green bulb. With a small growl from Bulbasaur, the seed was shot at the unsuspecting Pokémon like a bullet.

In a sharp second, the Leech Seed managed to reach its destination, but the target disappeared once again. With an unimaginable speed it took two more steps back. The seed struck the ground, partially burying itself in the soil.

Dammit!

If it hadn't used that Agility earlier, the Leech Seed would have struck Rapidash. Before long the battle would have been over. But things weren't so easy. It doesn't mean I had given up though.

Bulbasaur landed softly on the ground, firmly on its four little feet. "More of them! Leech Seed!" The Pokémon gave a momentary grunt.

The Leech Seed were shot continuously like bullets, but much to our annoyance, the Rapidash kept skirting between the shots, evading each one of them.

Its speed was overwhelming. We couldn't let it gain any further movement. I realized that man hadn't commanded a fire type move yet. He was perhaps waiting for a chance and finish us off in just one hit. Unfortunately for him, we won't let that happen.

"Vine Whip, at its feet!" Grabbing its feet would be the best way to put its speed to a stop, or at least lose its momentum a bit.

The vines moved like ropes that intend to trip the Rapidash, but the said Pokémon leapt over them as if they were skipping-ropes. Then in that case—

"Use your new move, Bulbasaur! Sludge Bomb!" It was a sudden change of pace on my part. The Rapidash seemed to be caught off guard but—

Bulbasaur took a deep breath and spat out the single shot of sludge with an incredible speed. Rapidash which was all focused on skipping over the vines was surprised by the sudden projectile attack. It was a strategy I used against Volkner's Electivire. His Electivire stopped Torterra's Leaf storm with fire punch. It was a brilliant tactic to stop a grass type move but we found a way around it. Torterra used a Leaf Storm to keep its hands busy with Fire punch, and then we used a surprise Energy ball to hit the off guard Electivire.

"Agility!"

But things proved to be different this time. The Pokémon disappeared just as the slimy projectile passed past where it once stood and landed on the ground with a minor explosion. I have to accept, that man's reactions were faster than anyone I faced till now.

It seems he was impressed by the strategy. The smirk on his face changed, he must have started acknowledging my strength then.

The man barked, "Now rip it apart with Flareblitz!" Took him long enough, but he finally decided to go with the explosive fire move.

Rapidash reappeared, using its right foreleg it propelled itself towards Bulbasaur. The Pokémon's red mane engulfed it in a complete orange aura, which instantly transformed into a blue one.

"Vine Whip, on the ground!" I commanded. My loyal friend whipped himself into the air once again.

"One more time!" He ordered the fire type. Just as Bulbasaur's feet touched the ground, the Rapidash charged at us one more time. It seems he doesn't want us to rest.

"Dodge!" Just as the blue blur shot past it, my partner pushed itself to the left, crash landing on his left side. He immediately skipped to his four feet, turning around at the same time, he was wary of another Flareblitz it seems.

"Attack till you burn it completely!" And just as we thought, another Flareblitz came to strike us. Bulbasaur dodged to his right this time. The game was turning dangerous. Each Flareblitz was lethal to Bulbasaur. One hit and the damage will be fatal. We were losing our ground while Rapidash kept raising its momentum. If this continues—

The blue blur was approaching once more. Bulbasaur flexed its legs, ready to jump away from the attack. But there was something else in my mind.

The Rapidash carried away by the uncomfortable situation it put us in, dashed at us once more, this time with more confidence and momentum. But momentum was his own enemy.

"Sludge bomb!" I made a quick call.

There's no way he could dodge this, not at this speed or so I expected. There was an instantaneous realization in that man's eyes as he figured out the move I made.

"Steer Clear!" His command came almost immediately after mine. His thinking was faster than I thought. I should have expected as much. He was my father after all.

The bomb of dirt shot at a brilliant speed at the rushing target, but the target pushed its feet, all at once and sprang, to push itself away from the bomb's trajectory. The bomb barely scratched past the blue blur, and crashed to the ground.

The next thing I knew the dust around rose up as Rapidash crashed beside Bulbasaur in a heap, skidding its way forward due to the momentum from Flareblitz.

"Excellent Job!" I gave the bulb Pokémon a thumbs-up, to which he grinned victoriously.

The horse-like Pokémon raised its head, attempting to rise back to its feet. "Sweep it off the ground with Vine Whip!" It's my turn to get into the offensive now.

The grass type took my cue; it extended its whips to topple the Pokémon back down. But the Rapidash's trainer reacted before his Pokémon did. "Jump!" He yelled.

The vines were swung like a baseball bat to trip the Pokémon, but the trainer's commands sent it a warning well before. The Pokémon hopped upon the low vines. There was a momentary relief in the trainer's eyes. We weren't finished yet.

"Leech Seed!" Another attack to our combination made it a triple attack combo. We could get them this time, we had them for sure!

"Agility!" Like a wave, our hopes crashed when the Pokémon disappeared once more, barely dodging the bullet-like Leech seed, and appeared at a safe distance behind, where it could easily dodge our attacks.

"Aw, snap!" It was May who exclaimed in displeasure. My face might be mirroring what she said because that man laughed.

The tension on his face disappeared. It seems he was holding his breath till now. He let out a huge sigh, "You almost got me there."

I smirked in response. But it was a façade to cover the pressure I was facing. The combo we did right now was the best we ever did. If that didn't get Rapidash, I wasn't sure what would.

Should I really switch out? Pikachu had a better chance at handling Rapidash's speed, and not to mention taking the Flareblitz wouldn't be just as troublesome. But—

I could see the uncomfortable expression on Bulbasaur's face. It wasn't anger; it was more like frustration of not being able to even land a single hit. I raised his hopes when I didn't switch out in the beginning itself. Doing so now would be horribly unfair. I didn't become that kind of a monster, not yet.

I just need to figure something else.

'_Take a look around.' _My voices called out.

That's right. That's how I battle, I should do something only I—no, both of us would be able to pull out together.

* * *

Ash's gaze shifted towards the blue and serene river. The battle was its peaks, Cilan noted. The battle was splendid, and if Iris hadn't forced him into shutting his mouth he would have used the opportunity to weave some amazing vocabulary. The sommelier inside him was unable to hold much longer.

The attacks from either side were sharp, as if to slice through the opponent like butter. Leech Seed or Sludge bomb, either attack would severely decapitate Rapidash, while Flareblitz would plainly finish Bulbasaur. They seemed even till now, but to Ash, the type disadvantage was a severe hindrance. Ash's side couldn't afford to take a hit. In fact if the harmony between Bulbasaur and Ash weren't outstanding Ash could have lost it by now. Even Cilan was surprised with the marriage between Bulbasaur and Ash. All these days he didn't expect any Pokémon to rival the closeness he had with Pikachu, but this particular combination was plainly fantabulous.

The posture Ash wore was a tense one, while the expression on his face could make one think he was calm and confident, it was a simple face show, a mask to be exact. His eyes quickly darted, studying the surroundings.

"It seems Ash is up to his trademark plan now," Brock commented.

"Trying to use his surroundings to his advantage, right?" Dawn asked.

Cilan wanted to add a few more words with some spice but Iris's foot was firmly on his, ready to crush Cilan's tender feet any moment, which definitely doesn't have a good taste.

The silence in midst of the tense battle stood. Even Alexander Ketchum waited for his opponent to do something. Mr. Ketchum seemed to be waiting for his son's reaction in the current predicament. Anyone who never saw Ash battle will be stumped by what he could do when cornered. It was actually because of this reason that Ash had more victories with a type disadvantage than ones with a type advantage. In the latter case he always gets cocky and makes a silly mistake.

"This will be interesting," The ingenious Professor muttered, which Cilan wholeheartedly agreed, after exchanging a glance with Iris, in silence.

* * *

What was he doing? Alex wondered. His so-called prodigal son was simply squinting at the surroundings, as if some natural disaster would come in and aid him in a comical victory. Yes he was called a 'prodigy'. Words of his son's achievements were discussed even in Rosenburg. To be honest those achievements weren't spectacular, the league competitions have definitely lose the flavor from ten years ago. Trainers these days relied a lot on day-cares and what not, forgetting that the main source of battle strength was the bond with their Pokémon. Standing top 16 in the Indigo League in the first try wasn't a great feat. Defeating the Battle Frontier was however, a significant achievement, but then again he was literally owned by Tobias in the Sinnoh League. That trainer might be using legendary Pokémon of unique strength, but getting mowed down like that was embarrassing. Still he did better than the others, he heard.

In Alex's eyes he viewed his son as above-average. He was better than the usual mass, but not excellent enough to be champion material. Cynthia would make him lick her boots any day. Speaking of which, that woman had some interest on Ash. Maybe the looks he inherited from his father? He virtually patted himself. If he weren't committed to Delia, he would take the blonde any day.

"So what will you do?" He asked, teasingly. The boy could be easily provoked, that was also something he inherited from his father.

The observant expression on Ash's face disappeared; his face seemed to light up with some kind of idea. His eyes were on the river to his left.

"Why don't you watch?" He smirked with somewhat extravagant confidence. This of course meant that he was planning something troublesome.

'_I wonder what it would be.' _Alex was filled with excitement. _'This better not disappoint me, son.' _He silently wished.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on that tree," he pointed his fingers energetically at the large Oran tree on the other side of the river.

What the heck?

The Pokémon, much to Alex's surprise, did so without any hesitation. The long vines were now wrapped around the sturdy branch.

'_He is trying to get to the other side.' _ He figured. "Rapidash, stop them!"

The fire-type prepared the enigmatic fire type move and galloped towards Bulbasaur at incredible speed boosted by agility.

The frog Pokémon however, took its jump before the horse-Pokémon could have a chance to tackle it down to a crisp. The little frog landed on the other side, like its trainer wanted, safe and sound.

'_My bad.' _He cursed himself. If he had reacted a second sooner, the battle would have been over. Then again, he was too engrossed wondering what he was going to do—perhaps, the kid was used to give people surprises. Interesting.

But why jump to the other side, unless—

He turned to his son, "So you figured out my Rapidash doesn't know a long-ranged fire type move, huh. Do you think attacking from the other side makes you safe?"

"Of course," the cocky smile on his face turned into a grin, akin to a child whose well-thought prank was successful. The boy commanded, "Let's use Solarbeam!"

The frog Pokémon's expression mirrored its trainer, as it haughtily prepared the attack that left it vulnerable for an entire turn.

Alex smiled wryly. The boy was just as he thought. He used some stupid half-thought strategy and expects himself to win it.

The river was not a small one, which was true. And unlike Bulbasaur, Rapidash couldn't use a long vine to cross like that but Ash did forget one thing.

"A Rapidash's jumping power shouldn't be underestimated, Ash. Besides a simple attack like Solarbeam is too easy to dodge," the battle turned sour for Alex. He expected something great, and all he got was a simple parlor trick. "Rapidash, jump to the other side, and obliterate them!"

The gleam on Ash's face only grew. Ah, perhaps he may have thought a step further. Maybe the kid was planning to attack while Rapidash was still in the air. It was a not a bad idea, if Rapidash were to fall in the river, the battle would end immediately. But only a fool would expect a beam attack like that to hit a superfast Pokémon like Rapidash. Even if it had a wonderful aim, the chances of Bulbasaur hitting Rapidash would be a meager twenty percent. Even if it did, his Rapidash was trained to charge through not-very-effective attacks like Blizzard and Solarbeam. The half-thought plan of his son was just a failure no matter how he looked at it.

The older Ketchum's Pokémon nodded and began sprinting towards the bank, and leaped over the somewhat broad river. Within the blink of an eye it crossed half of the distance it intended to when—

"On the water!" Ash cried abruptly.

What in the name of holy mother—!

An exasperated Alex turned to his son, who pumped his fist in the air, with gleaming eyes.

A bright flash light emanated at the corner of his eyes.

"Bulba—!"

With a ferocious battle roar unexpected from such a small Pokémon, the Solar Beam was shot in Rapidash's direction. Just as Alex predicted, Rapidash crossed the Solarbeam and touched the bank on the other side before the beam shot past behind it. But it was very late before the veteran knew that the intended target was not the Pokémon but the water behind it.

Before Alex could even let out his mouth to utter some command, the water struck by the enormous power of chlorophyll was pushed in all directions, the powerful surge rose up like a tidal wave and crashed on him, drenching the furious Alex. It was obvious that his Pokémon met the same fate; in fact the impact on the other side was much larger.

Rapidash was thoroughly drenched; the flames on its mane were on the brink of extinguishing and were fighting back with what seemed like extreme will-power. Alex knew this was the doom.

"Let's attack while it's still vulnerable!" Ash clapped Bulbasaur to attention. "Sludge Bomb!"

The Pokémon spat out the brown poisonous pellet out, and promptly hit the struggling Rapidash, as its trainer only helplessly watched. A perfect hit nonetheless, Alex criticized.

The bomb exploded on Rapidash, the Pokémon neighed in pain. A purple smoke enveloped the fire-type as if to hasten its impending doom. The smoke mixed with the air, and soon disappeared as if it never existed.

However, a purple surge of venom coursed through Rapidash's body buckling the Pokémon to its knees. The fire on its mane steadily returned, but at the same time the poison covered every nook and corner of its body, rendering it practically immobile and unable to stand.

"That little—!" Alex unconsciously girt his teeth and clenched his fists.

Alex furiously unbuttoned his green and weathered overcoat and furiously threw the drenched coat aside, revealing a black sleeveless black t-shit, and well-toned muscles, that rose a gasp from the young men and a small blush from the young women. Delia however didn't give any reaction as he expected. But he wasn't particularly picky now, because the source of his anger was now delightfully smirking at him.

* * *

The group of gym leaders, former gym leaders, an old Professor and a concerned mother/wife watched the scene with eyes wide open.

"Alex is really mad," for the first time even Delia was scared. While the rest were doubtful all the time, she alone was confident that everything would turn out okay. Even the ever-positive Dawn couldn't give any positive hope this time.

"No man would like to get outwitted by his 15 year old son," Brock pointed out the hard truth.

"He's just as thickheaded as his son," Misty whispered into Iris's ears. The dragon trainer meekly nodded, afraid that Delia might have overheard them.

"An excellently weaved trap, and it seems Mr. Alex fell right into it," Cilan spoke, now that Iris's hold on him loosened. The to-be-dragon-master immediately crushed his feet once more, and closed his mouth at the same time. What resulted was a simple yelp.

Idiot! She wanted to curse him. They didn't even properly introduce themselves to May and Misty. If he were to behave like this, they might take a terrible misunderstanding. To her knowledge, May was already throwing awkward glances at Cilan, and pitiful smiles at Iris.

Getting back to the topic, what the hell was that childish Ash doing. Didn't he notice the man on the other side was angry enough to kill him? Instead he grinned like a naïve stupid five year old. It was a surprise that the man didn't burst yet.

"He sure can control his emotions," Brock commented. It was surprising, but true. Getting provoked easily might be Mr. Alex's weakness, but he found a way to confine his emotions. The anger that this man carried inside him made Ash's little tantrums a joke to be laughed about, which Iris gladly did.

"It's time to finish this for once," a cocky Ash now commanded his Bulbasaur. "Solarbeam!"

"That's stupid!" May exclaimed. Yes, he was completely letting Bulbasaur out in the open.

"Rapidash is poisoned, even if it were to attack now," Brock explained. "Bulbasaur can easily dodge it. I think Ash has this in the bag." She saw Cilan nod in agreement to Brock's judgment.

"I wonder," Professor Oak said with a wry smile.

* * *

'_This battle is good as over.' _I said to myself in delight. The old man's Rapidash was cringing in pain. But I have to hand it to him, it was still standing. Even my Unefezant couldn't stand this long after getting poisoned by Roxie's Koffing.

Bulbasaur was charging another Solarbeam. Things are going very smoothly; even if Rapidash were to attack we could dodge the attack pretty easily. Besides Flareblitz would only make things harder for them. Either way, all I had to do was just stand back and watch my Pokémon win.

"Rapidash Flareblitz!" The old man barked. His voice didn't carry the tension as I expected, but oh well—he might be good at hiding it. Solarbeam was beginning to glow on Bulbasaur's back turning to a spherical shape. Only a few more minutes perhaps, the sun was almost down and it was harder to grab the energy.

Rapidash roared, despite the toxic sparks warning it not to, it raised the flames on its body. It dug its hoof deep into the mud, and trudge it back and forth like an angry Tauros. The Pokémon much like its trainer was gripped with fury. The purple surge appeared once more torturing the Pokémon to stop but it refused.

"It's coming," I decided to be safe and warned Bulbasaur beforehand. With a Solarbeam on its bulb, it could be difficult to warn it when it's too late. I am pretty sure that a poisoned Rapidash won't be able to outmatch Bulbasaur in speed.

A powerful neigh like none other. The Pokémon was already filled in a blue flame ready to strike its target.

"Now Rapidash!" The trainer commanded.

"Dodge!" I said almost at the same time.

What happened next was a brilliant movement. I thought I was watching a still Rapidash engulfed in blue flames. It took me a while to realize that it was an after image created by the flames.

Before I realized and turned, the blue blur shot like lightning, its speed unwavering. I could perhaps remember this scene even after ten years. Bulbasaur watched the disaster coming, it was loaded with a Solarbeam on its back, its jaws wide open in surprise. Its eyes lost color in fear of the upcoming pain. I watched Rapidash shoot towards Bulbasaur and run past it, with my mouth wide open, like I was watching an express train shoot before me.

Akin to an unfortunate obstacle that never should have stood in danger's way in the first place, Bulbasaur was tossed away far into the air, and landed after a long time when the blazing Rapidash stopped and looked back.

Like a package of burnt garbage thrown from a bridge, Bulbasaur landed like a heavy thrash, its lush green texture turned into a charred grey. The Solarbeam disappeared into nothingness and its eyes were still wide open in shock, but dazed.

I watched the scene like I had seen a ghost. I ignored the purple shock that made Rapidash scream in pain, followed by a blue one that resulted due to the recoil from Flareblitz. I simply watched my Bulbasaur fainted, and unable to move a limb while it was kicking actively only a few seconds ago.

"I would take it back into my Pokeball if I were you," his words brought me back to this world. That was when I realized I had my mouth open all along. I looked at him terrified, and when I realized I was scared, anger wallowed in its place.

But first—

I promptly returned Bulbasaur back into the Pokeball. The red light magically sucked the burnt Pokémon back inside. I looked at the Pokeball filled with regret, and anger over my sheer stupidity. "I am sorry buddy, I won't let this happen. Never again."

Staring at the ball like a precious jewel for yet another second, I tucked the ball back to its number one place on my belt. My eyes fell on the man when I did so.

He looked plain, his eyes studying me completely from top to bottom. I was guilty of smiling when his own Pokémon suffered, in a second he simply turned the tables upside down. Could it be that?

He asked, giving me an inquisitive look. "You have realized why you lost, right?"

My pride told me not to nod. But he took the silence as a yes. Provoking my dad was the biggest mistake I made. He fuelled that anger and used it to finish Bulbasaur. But still with all that poison Rapidash shouldn't have moved so freely.

He continued, "You were too overconfident when things went your way. But a battle is much more complicated than that. Things will never always go your way."

I know all that. I wasn't just expecting that. Gulping down my massive ego, I asked, "How did your Rapidash move so fast, even when it's poisoned?"

"Humph," he scoffed, as if my question held no value. "Poison endurance training is one of the basic things people do while preparing for a Champion's League. Poison is nothing but a mere hindrance to the trainers of that level."

Somehow winning the Champion League became a distant dream to me, all of a sudden.

"But still," he smiled. "I could see why Cynthia was interested in you."

"Wait," I asked, somewhat stumped. "You know Cynthia?"

"I do," he said. "When I met her a month ago she mentioned two names. One of them was 'Ash' a unique trainer that uses the abilities of a Pokémon like no other, and made surprising strategies in the battle. She said that if you were to use them on a regular basis, you might as well beat her in a span of five years."

I took a gulp down my parched throat. My hands felt numb, and it seemed like I was about to fall down any time soon due to a concussion.

Did she really expect that much from me? I always thought it was a kind gesture from her behalf, when she remembered me and when she listened to all that I talked.

Wait there's something else, she mentioned _two _names? "Who's the other guy?"I asked.

"She says it's some Paul, a trainer who could see through your little antics with ease even if you were to develop them to a higher level enough to threaten Cynthia. She told me he was a brilliant strategist, and perhaps a perfect "counter" to you."

"M-My perfect counter?"

Just as I thought. Paul's amazing; he's the strongest trainer I have ever fought. Those two full battles I fought back then, those were the battles that told me that I was strong enough to battle even in a world class tournament like Champion's League.

"Don't get too cocky," he broke through my thoughts. Was my face that easy to read? He said, "Unfortunately I don't share the same opinion as Cynthia. And your friend Paul—well if he lost to you, then I can easily estimate how much of a trainer he is." His words were dripped with sarcasm, cutting through any of my daydreams.

There was a brief silence. My eyes which were on his, trailed off to the suffering Rapidash's. I should choose my next Pokémon, I remembered. It wouldn't be a fair battle if I delayed anymore.

"I guess I'll take him back in," he took out his Pokeball and extracted the Pokémon right back. Why did he do that?

Before I opened my mouth to voice my opposition, he said, "Your next Pokémon will easily beat Rapidash. It hasn't much fight left, making it suffer knowing the result is pointless unless it's an official match."

He wasn't a cold-hearted prick as I thought because his actions suggested he cared for his Pokémon.

He said, "You did a good job, I should say, but it could have been a lot easier if you switched." I remained silent, unable to answer him.

"Ash," he spoke one more time. "I don't like your battle style. Not one bit," he said bluntly. I was fairly ashamed of what I thought of this man, but that doesn't mean he wasn't being a prick in my case. So basically there wasn't much difference, and yet I felt guilty somehow.

"But I'll battle you with everything I've got," he enlarged his Pokeball. "I know what you'll be sending next. So I prepared the right Pokémon for it."

I took a deep breath in, pushing the last few minutes out of my memory. Brushing them off as if it never happened. "Even if you say so," I smirked, "I will win and prove why Cynthia acknowledged my battle style." That's right; I am now putting Cynthia's words into the line too. I shouldn't lose, for her at least.

"Good, always keep the stakes high, that's what your grandfather used to say," he enlarged the Pokeball. "My prediction is that you will use Pikachu as your next Pokémon. What I have in my hand is a perfect counter to your Pikachu."

So he wasn't just joking, huh. Then in that case, "That's right. Pikachu is my next Pokémon." I glanced down and winked at my best partner. "Let's do it, Pikachu,"

The rodent acknowledged my feelings and stepped forward, settling down to his fours. Sparks leaked out of his cheeks, as a signal to my opponent that he really meant business.

"Well then," Dad aimed the ball at the ground. "Let's take the winnings, Dugtrio!"

The triple headed Pokémon appeared with an echoing cry.

A ground type huh. I exchanged a glance with that man; he was studying me, if there was some kind of fear in my face.

Type disadvantages mean nothing to me. I think I proved that earlier. So I remained confident, much to his annoyance.

"You make the first move," he said, nonchalantly.

Alright. Electric moves don't work, so I will focus on getting closer to Dugtrio and finish it off with Iron Tail.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu's fluffy long ears straightened, a white aura surrounded him, and dashed forwards with the speed that could rival a motorbike, taking coherent breaths between while exhaling them with a 'Pi'.

The tense battle atmosphere returned. Once again both of us returned to studying what the opponent would do and counter that move.

"Dig!"

The other trainer's reaction was fast, and necessary for dodging the Quick Attack. It couldn't be helped that Dugtrio was quick in following his lead. Spinning about itself, the Pokémon dug itself out of the scene before the fast move could even hit it.

Pikachu put a brake to its attack, he swiveled his head around, his eyes fervently looking for the Pokémon that was about to emerge out of anywhere, anytime. The two of us faced this situation many times, and there wasn't a particularly great strategy to overcome this, other than put a vigil on the surroundings, that we did.

Unlike Pikachu who had to turn his head around to have a view of the battlefield, my vision covers the entire area. But the time lag between me warning Pikachu and he following my command would be enough for the opponent to finish the attack. The only way out of this was to observe and warn before the enemy attacks. But if I were to warn too soon, the enemy would attack from some other direction. It's a matter of timing if you catch my drift.

The ground was still, nothing moved except the grass that swayed with the wind, and my partner who was aching to dodge the incoming attack anytime.

"Pi," Pikachu's ears wobbled a bit. It must have heard something. It was close then. I strained my ears, into the silent atmosphere. That's when I heard the faint rumbling noise. If it was perceived by my ears, then it was pretty close. The ground began to shake, it wasn't a powerful tremor, just a small one, befitting of a Dugtrio.

My eyebrows furrowed, sending a warning glance to Pikachu. The rodent pressed his legs to the ground, ready to jump anytime. The rumbling grew louder and louder until—

"Jump!" I barked out the command. Pikachu was already in the air, and simultaneously Dugtrio emerged out of the ground, surprised and disappointed to find its target in the air.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Right in the middle of his jump, Pikachu's yellow tail stiffened to a bright silver color akin to a freshly made iron bar. He spun about his flexible body, increasing the momentum of the attack.

As Dugtrio's trainer let out a gasp, and the Pokémon shivered in fear, the heavy attack landed on Dugtrio's head. The Pokémon 'moved' a few steps due to the impact.

"Awesome job!" I gave Pikachu a thumbs-up to which he raised a paw victoriously.

"Quite a powerful Pokémon you got there," Dad commented "Let's see how you will take this. Dugtrio use your special ability!"

Special ability? Wait, what was it? My brain desperately searched for any trace of memory I had on Dugtrio. The search gave a blink on the word Arena Trap. The realization only gave me an instant headache.

"Pikachu," I let out a hurried yell, "fall back!"

The electrified look on my face sent the urgency of the situation to him. Pikachu turned around and began to sprint towards me when—

A huge chunk of ground beneath Pikachu gave away at once. The rodent immediately fell into the pit before it could react in any way possible.

"Pikachu!" I let out a cry. It was too late.

Dust erupted from where Pikachu once stood, clouding my view from what was happening underneath. The dust cleared away slowly, but the scene only made me skip a heartbeat.

What has been a plain grassy land turned out into an enormous pit, filled with crumbles of the broken ground. All I saw everywhere was a pile of rocks that were supposed to be supporting the topsoil.

Like a drill machine, Dugtrio emerged out at the centre of the pit and watched its handiwork proudly.

My mind was completely blank. It seemed like someone electrocuted my brain from the inside, leaving nothing but a dazed 'Ash' who couldn't even breathe properly.

Was this over, so quickly? No, I refuse to accept so. Not my Pokémon, not my Pikachu. Then why wasn't anything moving? Why was everything so damn silent?

It took a while for me to collect my thoughts. I took a deep breath, putting my electrified brain back to work. Pikachu was still there, he was simply trapped underneath all that. In that case I'll save him.

"Use thunderbolt to smash the boulders away!" My voice echoed.

A dreadful silence followed. Fear crept through my veins instead of blood. Did something happen to Pikachu? The old man broke his wry smile and opened his mouth to say something.

Only to be interrupted by an explosion from underneath. A lone streak of electricity shot into the empty sky, blasting the rubble, underneath from which the attack erupted. A tiny yellow figure appeared in the mountain of rocks. His little figure was bruised all over with black soot like marks that tainted the pure yellow he was. His breath was ragged, but it seems he didn't suffer any fatal injury.

"Good," was all that man said in response. Of course he's my Pikachu.

"Let's continue then," he said, the seriousness on his face remained. "Dugtrio, rockslide."

My eyes instantly darted to the sky. Out of nowhere, huge boulders appeared, to rain on the contrastingly small Pikachu.

All I could let out was a small noise at first. I snapped finally as the danger approached, "Pikachu, destroy that boulder with Electroball."

My partner reacted as quickly as he could. Electricity surged through his tail, and slowly shaped into a ball filled with electric energy. The ball was smashed into the air, like a tennis player's serve.

The ball of energy struck a particular boulder above him and exploded with a loud bang. The huge boulder was broken into smaller harmless ones, while the rest of the boulders that couldn't harm him landed with a huge ground shaking impact.

Taking the chance Pikachu shot for the surface. It was smart of him, because I was planning to do the same.

"Dugtrio, Dig!" He commanded as Pikachu approached the exit of the extremely steep pit. It was a perfect moment to catch us off guard.

Not one second sooner or later, as Pikachu put his front paw on the firm land outside, Dugtrio appeared from underneath the grassy land, tackling the defenseless rodent back into the depths of the pit, which then landed on one of the huge chunks of boulder Rockslide left, squirming in pain.

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath. It seemed like a Herculean effort, but Pikachu managed to stand on his feet once again, somehow.

"Looks like I cornered you once again," he smirked. "What magic will you do now?"

That's right. I should figure a way out like the last time, except I will be a bit more careful this time. I won't let my emotions take the control of my battle. I promised that to myself many times, but I somehow end up forgetting it when needed.

All right, so what should I do? Dugtrio used both long range and short range moves. Not to mention, he has effectively trapped me inside the pit. There's no way in hell I could win unless I found a way out.

Wait!

I could use that! That's right; I could use the same tactic I used against Trip's Serperior back in the Unova League. Combine Electroball and Iron tail and plough my way out.

"Pikachu combine—" Before the words barely came out of my mouth, something else grabbed my attention.

It was faint but there was a trickle of water inside the Arena Trap Dugtrio made. "What the hell is that?" The other trainer asked, who apparently noticed the same.

The faint trickle of water grew and grew, until it turned into a pool in a matter of seconds.

"Alex, you idiot!"

Wow was that Professor Oak? It was the first time I saw him speak like that.

"Ah," my opponent examined the water flow. "I think I may have screwed our Pallet river bank a bit."

It was true. The 'hole' his Dugtrio made was pretty close to the river, the current gushed out through the flimsy layer of mud between the pit and the river's path and ended up filling it in no time.

"Why in the name of Zoroark would you make a huge pit like that downhill?" The Professor scolded. "Now the whole area will be flooded!"

"If you were so observant, the why didn't you warn me!" He raised his voice back at the Professor.

"Uh," the Professor was taken aback, "Well, um, that is," he fidgeted for a second searching for answers, and finally gave up doing so. "It doesn't matter! You were the one who dug that hole in the first place. It's your problem."

"I guess you're right," he scratched his head sheepishly. Now, why did the expression seem so familiar?

"Ash," he said to me, "Let's halt the battle. I'll deal with this first."

I nodded. "Return, Pikachu."

* * *

The next few minutes Misty spent watching Alex's Dugtrio carving out a neat outflow for the incoming water. In the end, the river resumed its usual flow, with the addition of a small bump which used to be Dugtrio's pit.

"Will he be okay?" Ash crouched, as Brock examined his Bulbasaur. Professor Oak who had some knowledge on the issue joined the trainer. The rest of them were asked to watch from a distance, so that the Pokémon could have enough air to breathe.

"Just a few potions and a paste made up of Rawst berry would be more than enough." The Pokémon doctor said examining the Pokémon. "Leave it to me," he said taking Bulbasaur into the Pokeball.

"Alright," Ash nodded.

"There are few potions in my room," Professor Oak suggested, "Tracey's in the lab. Make him prepare that paste."

"Alright," Brock took a step back and jogged back to the lab.

"Ash," Misty walked to the Pokémon trainer. The others slowly followed her.

"Hey Misty," he smiled at her. It was just a smile of courtesy, she could see. "Thanks for cheering me guys." He said to the group in general.

Misty was slightly dejected. She wanted to talk with him a bit and raise his spirits. But a one-on-one talk was impossible right now.

His eyes were set on the couple by the river. Mrs. Ketchum was casually chatting something with his father, a smile on her face as he made some joke.

"They make a nice couple," she said, and bit her tongue immediately. Ash wasn't particularly fond of his father, was he?

"I guess," he replied lazily. The yellow rodent seemed to understand its master's pain. It tugged his pants, and growled cutely with a 'Pikapi' as if to say it's all right.

"I hate him," he said, the chances that he meant what he said were high. Such was his father's attitude towards him.

"He's being deliberately being tough on you," Cilan said. This now earned a surprised stare from everyone else.

"You think so?" Misty asked on Ash's behalf, or so she thought.

"Ash, if your mother chose this man as her man of destiny," Cilan said, "Then he is a good man, Ash. You should believe in her that much."

The young Ketchum lowered his head, as if in thought. He brushed the Pokémon that rested on his lap while the Pokémon purred in affection.

"He doesn't like my battle style," Ash spoke after a brief silence. "He thinks it's a bad joke."

"Then prove that it isn't," Cilan added. Ash's eyes widened, the words worked like a magic on him. "The battle style you developed as a result from countless number of battles, the harmony with the Pokémon you deeply trust. If you explain him properly he will acknowledge you, Ash."

"That's right," Dawn jumped in glee, "Everything will be alright."

Misty couldn't find anything to add; instead she gave him an encouraging smile. It did seem to have an effect on him. The sulky expression on his face disappeared with the usual determined-Ash expression. "Thank you. I will do as you say." He stood up to his feet, and placed the yellow rodent on his shoulders. "Let's settle this for once, Pikachu." He said to his partner, the rodent pumped its fist in exchange.

* * *

I walked to my parents who were involved in a casual conversation. They perhaps had a lot to talk about the past ten years.

Mom noticed me first," Ash," she muttered my name, as if to greet me and warn him of my presence at the same time. The man turned around and set his intimidating set of eyes on me. I wonder if I had met anyone more intimidating since Brandon. Clay was a close one but he was more of a carefree guy.

I involuntarily took a gulp and opened my mouth to say that I was strong, and that I was proud of my battle style no matter how he thought about it. But he spoke before me, "You were better than I thought," he said.

Was it for real? He complimented me. Yes he did. I was better than what he thought, but how good did he think I was?

"Maybe Cynthia's prediction might be true," he said, somewhat unsure. He sighed, "But you don't have five years, Ash. You only have one. Not to mention I still don't approve your battle style."

"Why?" I blurted out. And here I thought he finally acknowledged me.

"It's simply hard to accept," he said as if it were his own weakness. "I trained my Pokémon for years in a rigid orthodox battle style. I couldn't just accept your antics as a legitimate battle style after watching some of the best trainers in the world. Cynthia might say you're unique, but she's the only one who thinks like that."

My fists tighten, nails dug into my gloves. I lowered my head, avoiding eye contact with him. Then, he made a surprising move.

He removed the cap that hid my eyes from his, and placed his left hand on my head and brushed my hair a bit like the way I did with Pikachu.

I wanted to remove his hand, but I didn't. And then he said, "But I am proud Ash."

What the heck? I looked at him with a surprised face. As if to mean what he said, he ruffled my hair. My throat felt heavy at once, a tinge of pain choked me from the inside. My heart seemed like it was clogged and tears welled up. I can't believe this. Am I crying? Just because he was proud of me?

"Oh, look at you," He teased and brought me closer to a hug, "Crying like a girl." The remark didn't hurt me, because it was true.

"Alex," Mom protested. "You bullied him enough already."

"He's too soft because of you Delia," he scolded her mockingly. "He's more of a girl than a man because of you. Look at those cute chicks behind you, Ash. You should make them all fall for you. Gotta catch'em all, boy!"

"Alex!" Her voice was louder this time, as if to give him a stern warning. "If I see you teaching him inappropriate stuff you'll be spending your nights outside the door."

"Oh for god's sake he's fifteen," the both of them started to ignore me and went deep into their quarrel. "I used to peek under girl's skirts at his age."

This only caused mom to pout and complain more. This was the first time I saw her really happy. They were fighting but they were enjoying it. Yeah, they make a good couple.

* * *

That night, the Oak's ranch was more like a banquet. A long table was arranged, to hold the grand feast for the group of friends and relatives.

"The food's plain great," Iris enjoyed the dish she was gobbling upon.

"Courtesy of Mrs. Ketchum, Brock and Cilan," Professor Oak commended the chefs.

"So Cilan is a sommelier?" May was already having her dessert, as she gulped down the food rather quickly.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding," Misty apologized.

"No, he deserves it," Iris complained. "He's a real pain, isn't that right Ash?" She asked the boy who was supposed to be sitting beside Mrs. Ketchum. He was missing and so was his father.

"Where did they go?" Dawn asked.

"Ash's showing his Pokémon to his dad," Ash's mom replied, she apparently liked the idea of them bonding.

"Hey guys," a new voice said grabbing the attention from everyone. "Nobody told there was a party."

* * *

"Half of them could use evolving," Dad was criticizing my Pokémon. They were clearly not enjoying his attitude. Sceptile put on a face, as if he would cut him any time. Buizel was glaring at him while Totodile and Gible fought to chew his head. "You have too many Pokémon of the same type. But overall, I think all your Pokémon need some individual training."

"We still have a year," I brushed his comment carelessly.

"Idiot!" He smacked me on my head. Hey what was that for? I didn't ask.

"One year is hardly enough," he glared. "I don't want you to just participate, I want you to win."

"Of course I want to win too." I argued. Who in the right mind would participate to lose?

"Your skill set is extremely poor. They wouldn't even let you step into Rosenburg."

I didn't know what Rosenburg was, but I took a good guess. "I am going to prove they all are wrong."

"They will crush you before you could open your mouth," Dad yelled back, "I spent ten years there and I know how it is."

"You spent ten years at the League?" I knew he spent ten years somewhere, but I never knew where.

"Not just I, hundreds of people do so, and they are all dedicated and experienced than you," he spat.

A sudden realization hit me. I asked, "You will be participating in the Champion's League too?" It was obvious. If he spent ten years at Rosenburg or whatever it was, he would obviously participate in it. But still the thought of fighting my own dad in the league was hard to believe.

His face broke into a sad smile, "I wish I could," he muttered, turning away from me. He looked at the distant stars in the night sky, "It was my ambition after all."

What does he mean by that? He couldn't? If he worked so hard for it then why wouldn't he participate?

"What happened, Dad?" Before realizing it, my voice turned serious. Even a naïve kid like me could understand something was terribly wrong.

"It's a long story," he said, not taking his eyes off the sky. "I will tell it when the time's right."

I was about to pressure him to answer when a third party disturbed us. Standing between two large trees was a pleasant surprise.

"Hey Ashy-boy," the newcomer grinned at me and turned to dad. "Nice to see you again after all these years, Mr. Ketchum. I barely remember you."

"Gary," I muttered his name. Yep, my oldest rival was standing before me.

* * *

**Authorial Rambling: **This chapter was way longer than it should have been. Mostly because of the battle. I think I did an okay job with the battles. Battles are main point of this story, but this story isn't just about battles. That would make it boring like hell.

I carefully tried avoiding Ash mentioning Alex as his dad, at the same time he wouldn't call his father Alex or Mr. Ketchum. In the end it was very difficult to put up with that. But yes things will be easier from now on because I can use both 'father' and 'dad' interchangeably.

I made yet another assumption: A normal trainer's Pokemon generally loses its ability to attack properly when poisoned. This assumption was based on Ash v/s Roxie. His Pokemon were completely hopeless after poisoning, and won with great difficulty.

Another assumption: Sludge bomb poisons the victim if it inhales the toxic gases once the bomb(or rather a bullet) explodes. So things like 30% probability etc. won't be applicable here.

* * *

**Character appearance Count:**

_**Major role only:**_Ash Ketchum (2), Alexander Ketchum (1)


	3. Evolving Strengths

**A suggestion: Adjust the Story Width to 1/2 for best read. It's easier on the eyes.**

**~*~ 3. Evolving Strengths ~*~ **

"Gary," Ash was genuinely pleased to see him. Mr. Ketchum studied the boy's face curiously, as he jogged his memory.

"Ah, you are the Professor's grandson!" Alex exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

Alex was about to ask something else, when Ash interrupted. "So how's your research, Gary?"

There was a tinge of surprise on Alex's face. So he didn't know that Gary was a researcher. Brock then realized what Ash did, and commended his quick-wit in handling their introductions.

Gary was taken aback by Ash's sudden question but answered, "I am specializing on ancient Pokémon research, and guess what?" He said with a casual air of arrogance, "We managed to defossilize about ten varieties of Pokémon."

"Ah, so you decided to follow your grandfather's path after all?" Alex nodded to himself, "Research is in your genes, boy."

Gary let out a small laugh at this, "I guess you expected me to be a trainer. I am sorry I couldn't put the promise from ten years ago."

"No," Alex nodded in displeasure. "Holding onto promises gets you nothing. One must follow his own heart. If your heart says you want to be a researcher, then so be it."

Ash frowned at the man for some reason. Brock sensed it too. He was being nice to Gary all along, and not to mention he spoke with Brock and Cilan in the same fashion too. So he was being rude only to Ash?

"Mr. Ketchum," Gary brushed his hair, and said with a sly grin, "I didn't give up on my other dream yet."

* * *

Now that startled me. What did he mean by that? Dad simply raised an eyebrow in response, as if demanding a full explanation from Gary.

"I intend to win the Campion's League," he said. His statement made me gasp for a brief second.

Gary's gaze shifted to me. When our eyes met, I realized he was asking for my reaction. So if he was reverting back to the old Gary, then there was only one way I could react— a trademark Ketchum's only confident smirk.

I asked, "You left the battle circle for three years. Won't you be all rusty now, Gary?"

Gary's face relished with a smile. It's been a while since I had thrash talked with him.

"Unfortunately for you Ash, I didn't ignore my battling even during research," Gary's face seemed like he was hiding a cunning grin. "Watch out, Ash. I maybe stronger than you."

"Then how about we see how good you are?" I asked, pointing my finger at the Pokeball on his belt. The smile on Gary's face grew wider. He wants this; I could notice it even if he doesn't say so.

"Now aren't the two of you a lively couple of hot-headed young trainers," Dad put a hefty arm on each of our shoulders. The two of us had to put extreme effort to just stand. "But this isn't the time for a battle. Gary I have a question for you."

"What is it, Alex?" He asked, he was more familiar to dad than I thought. When did they meet? I can't remember. Maybe my birthday party? I threw in a proclamation that I would become the strongest trainer in the world that day. That's when he pulled my pants and made fun of me. Now thinking about that day. Dad must have enjoyed me suffer. He obviously made friends with Gary at that time.

Dad asked him, "The Champion's League rules state that only trainers with forty official badges from five regions can participate in the tournament. How many do you have?"

"Ten from Kanto, eleven from Johto," Gary said, rubbing his nose. I swear his nose looks as big as a Fearow's beak when he does that. "But it doesn't matter according to the new rules." He opened his green duffel bag, and extracted a blue-covered book.

"The league catalogue?" Dad frowned as he took the book and flipped the pages. He stopped in the midst of reading something and eyed me, "Ash, did you read this?"He asked.

I never saw a book like that, and everyone knew I hate reading books. Was it something important? "Uh, no?" I answered promptly.

There was a momentary pause. The whole world around seemed to freeze, as if it were struck by Kyurem's ice beam. The look on my father's face ranged along the same lines one would put in front of a catastrophe or completely distressful news. In other words the book was something important that I ought to read.

I could see something behind Brock shake vigorously. Four figures suddenly disappeared from my line of vision. It was those four. I swear those girls were laughing at me now. "I was uh, planning to read it tomorrow," I tried to save my face from embarrassment.

Dad raised an eyebrow, "Tomorrow?" He asked. I realized it was a rhetorical question.

"Uh, yeah," I scratched my hair sheepishly. "Tomorrow."

"Ash," Gary was hard suppressing a grin. "Tomorrow is the Champion's league registration."

"What?!" I cried, loud enough to throw Pikachu off my shoulders. Nobody told me about that! Weren't registrations done a day or two before the actual league starts? Why didn't anyone tell me about it?

"Well in his defense," Brock interrupted. "The catalogue was released only a week ago, and he was on a ship back to Kanto."

"A _week_?" Dad gasped and turned to me. "Ash do you realize how people in Rosenburg wait for this?" He said pointing at the blue book.

Rosenburg. Rosenburg! Why does he keep mentioning the same name? If he really loves that place, then why did he return? Does he care anything about mom, his wife?

I opened my mouth to say the same. But I was stopped when another figure entered the scene. I simply couldn't speak like that, not in front of her.

* * *

Brock was tensed. Ash was about to burst out. Oh, why should those two be like this? Looking at Ash's face, it seems like he was about to throw a scalding remark any time soon, and Mr. Ketchum was eagerly waiting to counterattack. Coming from a family that faced severe situations, Brock knew how simple words could destroy relationships and cut people's hearts like no knife or sword could ever dream to, that is, without spilling any blood.

The atmosphere was cold, the same cold he faced when Bulbasaur drenched Rapidash. The both of them were painfully alike in personality, and acknowledging that only made them madder.

But then like a cool breeze that could sweep any fatigue, like a magic that could drag one from the pits of hell itself, Delia Ketchum appeared.

"My, my," she clapped her hand. Whether she was oblivious or she purposely wanted to ignore the coldness around, she spoke with a warm innocent smile like a Sunflora's. "Isn't he just like you, honey? Too focused on his goal that he forgets the important things. But isn't that why I am here for?" She showed the blue book she hid behind her. "Ash, I brought your catalogue from the online store." She handed the book maintaining the bright smile.

"L-Like me?" The older Ketchum seemed surprised and offended at the same time.

"Of course," she beamed. "Don't you remember how you forgot to register for the league and then had to pay the janitor a lot to put your name in?"

"That janitor!" Alex's face turned red, "He's a top notch business man now. He owns the Kanto Battle frontier. I hate his guts for bargaining with me like that."

"Scott was a janitor?!" They all exclaimed.

"Yeah," Alex muttered bitterly, He turned to his son, his anger wasted on the millionaire-turned-janitor. "Ash, read it out."

"Y-yes," Ash opened the book and searched for the page with rules page. After finding out the correct page he began reading with quite difficulty.

"The champion's league 2012-2013 has a complete new set of rules as opposed to the rule carried out for the past 130 years. This time the tournament will face a tier system. Trainers with any amount of league experience amounting from 1 second to even a thousand years can participate in this tournament. Yes, even if you are a trainer who just began his journey you can register at the respective Pokémon Centre near you. However a trainer should submit his Pokédex as a proof or should carry at least one Pokémon with them during registration. "

"What the—" Mr. Ketchum's face lost colors. "It must be that damn Scott. He is a part of the board of directors now. "

"Scott has shares in the League?" Brock asked. Now this was genuinely surprising.

"Yeah, a freaking twenty percent."

"Wow, twenty percent is just too much," Brock conferred. The PLA had a huge turnover amounting to many billions. It was the second best sport after soccer and baseball in terms of popularity. But the new rules—

"I see," Brock scratched his chin. "So by letting beginning trainers battle, Scot is planning to draw in a huge number of crowd than usual. Even people not interested in the league will come and watch if their friends or children will be participating."

"Excellent deduction Brock," a new voice said. Professor Oak and Tracey were behind them, carrying a large tray containing Pokémon food. "Now Ash this means you'll have to face Gary in the Champion's League."

"It isn't called the Champion's league till you reach Tier 1," Mr. Ketchum interjected, before reading further. "All applicants are automatically put in Tier 7, irrespective of League experience and any position they previously have. The tournament from Tier 7 to 6 is Pokémon World Tournament, Rosenburg cup. But, if you are a current certified Gym Leader then you get into Tier 5, which is called the Pokémon World Leaders Tournament. And if you are a certified member of Elite Four, you will be in Tier 2, the tournament is then called the World Elite Tournament, and then finally if you are one of the Champions of the Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn or the combined Johto-Kanto champion you will be in Tier 1. It's then called the Champion's League."

"Ah," Professor Oak said thoughtfully, "Although it seems like they degraded the tournament, in hindsight they actually improved the quality of the tournament."

"How is that?" Alex asked. "They are literally allowing anyone who can wear a pant."

"The new system will filter out all the beginner trainers, Alex. Only the best of the best will reach the top. It's far better than the usual Champion's League. If you win you could actually boast that you defeated everyone below you."

Alex took a sigh, sinking in what the professor said. "What do you guys think?" He asked Ash specifically.

Ash however, pumped his fists into the air and exclaimed, "No matter what the rules are, I will win this tournament no matter what!"

"Idiot," Alex muttered while wincing at his own remark, owing to the fact that he was exactly the same like him. "Well I guess it's good, but the people at Rosenburg will be pissed off."

"Then in that case I believe all of you should participate in this tournament," the Professor nodded to Cilan, Brock and the four girls behind.

"Iris and Misty will be in Tier 5," Cilan said, "Now that has a fantastic taste to it. We all could aim to reach those two." The girls beamed proudly of the sudden status they were given.

"What I want my son to reach is Cynthia or Lance," Alex commented, which brought out an eerie silence among the group. "Ash, our battle was interrupted earlier. But my question stands, will you take my offer?"

Ash looked down, contemplating for a second. Now something like that was a surprise from Ash. He thinks very rarely, Brock thought. "Only if you accept my battle style." He replied firmly.

So even if an experienced trainer who was also his father told him to change his battle style he wouldn't do so. Is this the same Ash whom he battled in the Pewter Gym? It was a wonder how time changed people. He has grown from a brat who only wanted the title of Pokémon Master to a powerful trainer who sticks to his ideals. Without his knowledge Brock was beaming proudly at Ash. Noticing which Cilan placed a friendly arm around his shoulders.

"Seeing Ash talk like a grown up makes me dizzy for some reason," Misty said. Brock then realized she missed some of his growth in the Hoenn League, Battle Frontier and Sinnoh League. Even he missed his growth in Unova, but nothing shook Ash as much as that one person did, namely: Paul. Brock witnessed the biggest changes in Ash's life. While it was true that Dawn watched the same, but she didn't knew the Ash from before, so she couldn't register it as a change.

Iris whispered, "Really? I still think he is a little kid."

Misty smiled, "You should have seen him back then. He used to brag for a whole week just because he caught a Caterpie."

"Fine," Alex agreed after a deep pause, cutting the murmurs between the girls. "But I need time. I won't take much. But till then you are on your own."

"Well let's put all this discussion aside and have a good night's sleep."Delia announced. "All of you will be busy with the registration tomorrow." She said to her son, "Ash I think it's better if you camp out with your friends tonight. We can always catch up later."

"Yeah," Alex agreed, "Friends are very important Ash. It's really hard to find people you can trust these days. Take care of my son, all of you." He smiled at them. The veteran trainer then led his wife towards the exit. "So when did you close the restaurant?" He asked his wife as they slowly disappeared out of earshot through the door. Mrs. Ketchum replied something back, but Brock couldn't make out what it was.

"Well I and Tracey have some feeding to do," Oak said. "You guys have your time."

* * *

The night was far more disappointing to her. She has canceled many appointments to visit him. The reunion with his father postponed half of it. But at least Mr. Alex was kind enough to give Ash to them for the night. But the boy was already asleep, apparently tired from the three day journey from Unova. Perhaps May and Dawn were equally disappointed, but they were already indulged in discussing about contests.

"So you love him?"

Misty jumped at the sudden question. She found Iris, in her pink, worn night dress hanging upside down from the sturdy branch of some tree.

"I-I," she panicked for a second. She placed a hand on her chest, and found her heart pounding like a race horse. But she was different from three years ago. She was used to tough situations as a gym leader, and she knew the best thing to do was to take a deep breath and clear her mind from all idle thoughts. "I don't know. I feel so sometimes, but sometimes I think it's just an attraction because I hung out with him for two years."

"A dilemma, huh?" Iris folded her arms with a foxy smile on her lips, "You are really interesting and daring to accept like that. You did better than May."

"Wait, you asked May?" It didn't dawn upon her that the other girls were travelling partners too, and might have considerable feelings towards him. Not to mention, she was completely out of touch with the 'new' Ash who talked stuff like battle style and what not.

"I did," she replied.

There was a momentary silence as Misty wanted her to speak further, but Iris didn't. The dragon trainer watched haughtily as Misty burned with curiosity. Misty realized the cunning fox behind her and understood the kind of stalemate she was thrown into.

"So what did she say?" Misty asked, trying very hard to look unconcerned.

"Well, she was in a dilemma too," Iris said. "Although she said she never gave it much thought. So you seem to be advanced on the relationship thinking. Maybe you love him the most."

"Wait, why me? You didn't ask Dawn yet, right?" That was an awful self-defense, but it seems Iris wants to corner her into admitting something she would regret later on. Thinking about him a bit and confessing are in different levels altogether. Misty wasn't keen on touching the second, not yet.

"Oh so you want me to pick on Dawn?"

Misty asked, hoping to corner Iris. "So you admit you are picking on me?"

"Yes, I am."

Her guts be damned to hell! How could she talk something like this? For god's sake Brock and Cilan might be listening to them. They should at least move away from the boys. What if something worse happens? What if Ash listens? She glanced at Ash's sleeping figure, to confirm her doubts. Much to her sanity, the boy was snoring loudly while attempting to roll inside his sleeping bag.

"Fine, let's pick on Dawn tomorrow, okay?" Misty said. She felt guilty about putting Dawn in a fix like that, but even she was curious about her. But of course not as much as she was about Iris. Was Iris simply playing with her or could it be a psychological play for the tournament? Nah, it couldn't be the latter. She wouldn't droop so low. Ash never associated well with people who have malicious intent.

"Fine," Iris agreed. Her eyes brightened with a new idea, "Hey wanna sleep on the tree with me?"

Misty considered the offer for a second, realized playing along her terms would be safer for now and agreed. "I'll try."

* * *

"So is everybody aboard?" Dad's booming voice echoed through the group. We were on Oak's jeep, with Dad at the helm. Brock sat beside Dad, while the four girls somehow fitted themselves in the back seat. Cilan and I were forced to take the uncomfortable, empty and crooked space in the back which was supposed to be for luggage. Gary was driving his own car and already took off few minutes ago. So much for my ego, I should have gone with him.

"Yeah," everyone with the exception of Cilan answered with full energy. Cilan might be paranoid about the long journey to Viridian sitting in a dangerous spot. The both of us could easily be knocked out of the jeep if dad would drive rashly.

But of course trivial matters like that was none of my concern. What mattered to me now was the registration! I know it's kinda weird to get all riled up for a tournament which was one year away, but the excitement kept beating the energy into my body.

While it was said that the registration was open for a whole month, we won't be able to book the suites if we go late, or so dad says. Apparently tenting outside for the whole league wasn't an acceptable option for him.

"Hang on Ash," Misty teased, "We don't want the future Pokémon Master injure himself on his way to the registration." She was holding onto Pikachu who preferred being with her than the cramped up space we were in.

Cilan asked noticing the Pokeballs on my belt, "You are bringing your Pokémon?"

I replied, "Yeah, if I run into some strong trainer during the registration, I will beat him if he tries to smack talk with me."

Cilan laughed, amused at my reason.

"Here we go!" Dad yelled, jerking the jeep to a start while almost throwing me and Cilan outside in the process of doing so. The sommelier was definitely unhappy.

* * *

"Whoa," the ever-busy Viridian city was busier than usual. In fact there were people everywhere no matter where one looked at. At some point I wondered if it was a League registration or a Tsunami refugee campaign.

They were all trainers. All of them were chattering excitedly, perhaps speaking about their dreams to win the league like I always did. That's right; everybody who participates in a League wants to win. But only a few can actually manage to make the dream a reality.

The jeep screeched to a halt before the Pokémon center where the crowd was denser than it was on the streets.

A cramped up Cilan and I jumped down. My body was aching all over owing to all the bumps along the road.

"Did the two of you make in one piece?" Dad peeped behind. Did he really expect us to fall down somewhere?

"Somehow," Cilan let out a sigh, massaged his arms, and then dusted his dress clean.

"Pretty hectic isn't it?" Gary appeared from the crowd, playing with the keys in his hand. "Even registering for the league can get competitive."

"Ah, don't tell me we have to stand in that big line!" Misty exclaimed. Indeed the line was long, in fact very very long. So long that it started from the Pokémon Centre's main door and extended all the way down the main road. It was as long as one could see. They were all waiting eagerly for the clock to strike 8 AM.

"You are a gym leader of Kanto, Misty." Dad scoffed at her reaction. "I think you can figure out the rest."

And that was how Misty, May, Cilan, Dawn, Iris, Gary, Brock and I were inside the Pokémon Centre before the registration even started. A couple of people yelled while we entered, and some threatened to throw stones at the glass door, but luckily, Officer Jenny maintained the peace for us.

However the excitement I was holding inside couldn't wait any longer as I saw Nurse Joy standing by the counter with a computer, and a printer beside her. That was definitely the registration desk.

"Nurse Joy, register me!" I was already jumping at the counter. But before I could even reach my destination someone pushed me, knocking me off my feet.

"Nurse Joy! My heart breaks with the knowledge that you have to register these participants all by yourself!"

It was the usual infatuated Brock, and he was currently holding Nurse Joy's arms. I could only let out a helpless sigh.

"Is Brock a sommelier too? Iris asked, watching his actions curiously.

"No he's just a weirdo." Misty said with a frown.

"Not much difference," she whispered into Misty's ears. But if I heard it from this far, Cilan might have listened that too.

"Iris," Cilan said, putting up a scowl, "I don't like the way you give people the wrong notion about sommeliers."

"Its fine, Cilan," Misty found his reaction funny, because she laughed, "I know better than to believe what Iris says."

"I actually want to know what a sommelier does," May joined the conversation.

"Really?" Iris asked, "You should see his tasting time. What a big pain!" She earned another scowl from Cilan, but I wondered if she cared.

"It isn't as bad as Iris makes it out to be," Dawn said in an attempt to cheer him. "You actually look cool when you do the 'tasting' thing."

"You really love teasing people don't you?" Misty said, as if the two of them know each other pretty well. "And you call Ash a kid?"

"Oh Misty," Iris brushed her long hair, "Should I tell everyone about what we discussed last night?"

"Hey!" Misty exclaimed. "It's supposed to be a secret."

Iris turned to me, "Hey Ash wanna know what Misty said last night?"

Before I could even have a chance to reply Misty grabbed Iris and closed her mouth, "I didn't say anything, okay?" She said glaring at me.

"Uh, okay?" I said. What the hell was that supposed to be?

"It sure is lively here," Gary lent me a hand and yanked me back to feet. I was too busy watching Iris's antics; I didn't realize I was on the floor all the time. "We better get the registration going before the clock strikes 8. Those people outside look like they are gonna come and kill us. Why is Mr. Ketchum taking so long to park his car?"

"Dad won't be participating in the League," I said. "Let's do the registration thingy."

"What?" Gary looked surprised, "Why wouldn't he? He spent the last ten years on it, right?"

"I don't know," I said, my voice was somewhat low and dejected. He didn't tell me anything about it last night. I should perhaps ask him when I get the chance. But whatever reason he was hiding, it's really painful to let go of the goal you wanted to achieve. Just what happened to make him do it?

"Fine let's register ourselves," Gary said.

"Hey Gary," I asked out of curiosity. "How do you remember my dad? I don't remember him mixing with the kids much."

I wanted to ask if dad encouraged while he made fun of me but decided against it because that seemed silly.

"You remember that party when we were kids," Gary said. So it was the party after all. I hate that man, he loves ridiculing me.

"I bullied you that day," he said. I hate when he puts it like that. "Your dad was all drunk that day. He threatened me when we were alone and told if I were to ridicule your dream again he would throw me in the Pallet River."

"What?" I stared at him unbelievably. I never expected dad to do that. Threatening a five year old? Gary could have complained to the police. But I felt relieved that all my earlier assumptions were wrong.

"He told me I could make fun of you though," Gary chuckled. "I thought he was strange. But now I see the difference between ridiculing you and your dreams."

Uggh, my opinion on this man keeps changing every second.

The registration went quite quickly. It was apparently made easy for handling the large crowd. All I did was hand my Pokédex, put a thumb impression on some kind of scanner. Following my lead Gary, May, Dawn, Cilan, Iris, Misty did the same.

Leaving only Brock.

"Brock, aren't you registering?" I asked the same.

"Brock has applied as a Pokémon doctor," Nurse Joy replied with her trademark smile. "He wants to use the League as an intern project."

"Really? That's cool." I actually didn't know what an intern was, and I had no intention to tell anyone about it.

"So you weren't simply flirting huh," Misty said. She casually checked her watch, "Well guys its eight 'o' clock, let's go and leave Nurse Joy to the mass of commoners." She spoke as if she was the imperial queen to the kingdom called Kanto.

And they say I am haughty and overconfident. Them hypocrites!

* * *

Although Misty felt slightly guilty about cheating the people by using her influence to register first, that was worth it. They were waiting for Alex to show up. The said man mysteriously disappeared after he left to park his jeep. Maybe he was struck in a line of cars in the parking garage?

"Guys, I need to book a ticket to Twinleaf for tomorrow," Dawn said, "I am going to the booking counter."

"I'll come with you," Ash offered.

"Thanks, I am not familiar with Viridian city; I really need your help." She smiled.

"Why are you thanking me? We are friends not strangers," Ash put on a bright innocent smile.

Why the heck is he so cheeky with her? Oh wait, that's his usual personality. Misty cursed herself for momentarily thinking about him in the wrong way. Ash could cheat a woman perhaps, but he needs to learn to love one for that to happen.

Ash asked, "So you will leave tomorrow, huh? I wish you could stay a few days."

"Buneary has a dress up pretty soon," Dawn said. "I should focus on that for now."

"What about you May?" He asked the brunette.

"Max's tenth birthday is one week from now. I will stay till then," May replied. "So I will hang out for a couple of days."

"Iris?" He asked the annoying dragon trainer.

"I have just become the gym leader, I can't afford much time here. I don't want Drayden pulling me back all the way to Unova. So I will be leaving soon too."

"I see, so all of you will be leaving pretty soon," he looked disappointed.

'_What about me?'_ Misty wondered. Why did he ask everyone else and not her? So he really doesn't care about her? She was furious, not that Ash didn't ask her the same question but to the fact that she was actually bothering about something trivial.

"You didn't ask Misty yet," Iris asked snidely.

Mew damn you Iris.

Ash who didn't notice the devious smile on her face replied casually, "Cerulean is pretty close to Pallet. I can visit her any time."

That's right. He didn't forget about her after all, Misty sighed in relief.

"Yeah, you can visit her any time," Iris said and repeated the last word once again, "_Any_ time," she grinned deviously.

The trainers around gave a mixed reaction to this. While Cilan put on a sympathetic expression, May and Dawn stared at Iris, as if she was unbelievable. Brock who knew Misty's character, however took a cautious step back. If she weren't fuming red, Misty probably would have clobbered Iris with something. That girl is just too much!

"Heh, I get the joke," Gary smirked, unaware of the volcano beside him.

"Nobody asked you Gary Oak!" Misty snapped at the young Professor.

"Ouch," he said mockingly.

"What's the joke?" Ash asked, feeling left behind. "I didn't get it."

"_You _are the joke," She yelled at the Ketchum. "Gary bring your car, I am going back to Pallet!"

"Aye, aye madam!" Gary saluted her.

Cilan said, "I will come with you too. I don't want to be in that jeep again."

"Count me in," Iris said, ignoring the stern glare from the water Pokémon trainer. The threesome then followed Gary's lead to the parking station where he left his car.

* * *

"Well let's go to the harbor then," I said leading the way. Brock, May, Dawn followed me. The harbor was pretty close to the Pokémon centre. It was a couple of blocks away.

"So how did the Wallace Cup in Johto go?" I asked. That was the last thing we talked when I met Dawn in Unova.

She exchanged a worried glance with May, "It was a small disaster."

"What happened?"

"We made it to the top four. I lost to Drew," Dawn replied.

"And I lost to Zoey," May finished.

"Wow, so who won?"

"Drew," Dawn said. "Zoey didn't like him at all. She raged for a whole week about it."

"And that's not it," May added. "Drew got to battle Wallace himself."

Brock added, "That must be quite an honor for a coordinator."

"It was," May said enthusiastically, "And guess what? He won!"

"He what—?" I exclaimed.

"Are you telling me Drew won?" Brock was shocked too. "Wasn't he the former champion of Hoenn before Steven took in the reins?"

What the heck. Nobody told me that part. I knew he was Juan's student. Then it makes less sense for Drew to win.

"Well, Drew had the field advantage, and he kept dodging the attacks," May said, "He didn't even attack back. Wallace went easy on him."

"Zoey said it was a cheap way to win," Dawn added.

"But a win is a win," I said. "Dodging a Champion level trainer's attacks is a great feat itself."

A win is a win no matter what. That's what I believed. It's stupid to put the blame on the field or weather. If you lost a battle then it means you lost and nothing else.

"Wallace beat Steven to the Champion throne in 2008," Brock said. "Steven got it back in 2010."

Well that answered my doubt. Talking about Champions, Cynthia came to my mind. She told something about me having some potential and she even talked about Paul—

"Hey Dawn," I asked the blue haired girl, "Did you hear anything from him?"

I realized I didn't mention who the 'him' was. Paul need not be in her mind like he was in mine.

"Him?" She was confused. "Do you mean Paul?"

"Yeah," I said. She somehow caught my drift, luckily. "Did you hear anything from Paul?"

"I heard a couple of things from Barry," she said. "I heard he defeated Brandon and is training under him in Kanto."

"Paul's in Kanto?"

I could meet him and tell what Cynthia thought about the two of us. "Where is he now?"

"I am not sure," she said. "Well I can try contacting Barry for you."

"Ash," Brock brought my attention. He pointed at something distant at the Viridian port. "I think the guy you are searching is right in front of us."

Huh? I swiveled to where Brock pointed. At a good distance away from us, two boys of my age were visible. Each of them had a gigantic grass type beside them and were engaged in a conversation.

I had no doubt. It was him. That purple hair, that purple jacket, it was him!

"Paul!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and dashed towards him immediately.

"Ash wait!" May yelled.

But it's Paul! I can't wait here when he's right in front of me!

Paul noticed me as I came closer. His expression suggested that he was surprised to see me too. He muttered my name in surprise. The surprised face turned into a smile as he finally registered me.

I stopped a few feet before him to catch hold of my breath. There was a brief silence between us as we stared at each other. It all seemed like a dream. I knew I would meet him someday, but not like this. It was a pleasant surprise for both of us.

Calming my breath I finally managed to speak, "It's been a while, Paul."

"Yeah," he said with a warm smile uncharacteristic of his previous cold self. "You seem to be energetic as usual."

* * *

"Freakin' Viridian Gym," Alex muttered. He had several bad memories about this gym. Things he liked to forget about. If 'that man' still lived here, he would have broken the gym's door to pieces and try to burn him up with his Rapidash. But he ran away, to some freaking' underground where no one would ever hope to find him. He hated him, but he accepted that he was good at what he did.

"Fuck you Giovanni," he muttered under his breath. It was almost time; Ash and the others might be waiting for him.

"Hey did you see that? Ash Ketchum from Pallet is fighting that guy with Drapion." An enthusiastic kid shouted at a group of children who were busy playing mock Pokémon battles.

"That nasty guy who used poison on Ash's Pokémon?" A young girl asked, apparently looking scared.

"Yeah!"

The kids rushed towards the direction where the port was.

Alex was amazed how he underestimated his son's fame. Apparently making it to the top ranks in Leagues consecutively could make you popular. A smile crept on his face as Alex imagined his son's reaction to his newfound fame.

But wait. A guy who used poison? Guy who used Drapion? He never watched any of Ash's battle but he remembered a news article about an epic battle in the Sinnoh League that made its way into the _Rosenburg Times'_ third page. He remembered the picture of a Gliscor dodging Drapion's Pin missile. The photo was quite artistic, he remembered.

So Paul is here, huh? Quite interesting.

* * *

"You seem to be energetic as usual."

Dawn was surprised to see the smile on Paul's face. She knew there was some change in him during the battle, but this? Was this what Cynthia said?

"_When one life meets another life, something will be born."_

The guy in front of her, it is hard to call him Paul. He's completely different. He doesn't carry the same negative aura anymore. Instead he was shedding a positive light like Ash. Did losing to Ash really affect him that much?

"Well, I guess you are Ash?"

Their attention shifted to the new face beside Ash.

"My name's Vincent from Fuchsia City," he lent a firm hand to Ash.

"The name's Ash Ketchum, from Pallet." Ash shook his hands with Vincent.

"I know everything about you," the blue haired Vincent said. "You turned Paul into a monster, you know?" He chuckled.

Ash threw a questioning glance at Paul. "Ignore him," Paul said.

"I am not kidding, Ash," Vincent said. "Paul and I were friends. We got our starters the same day. He changed a lot since Reggie lost. He hardly talked to me back then. The only thing he did was battle and battle."

Dawn's attention shifted to the enormous Venusaur beside Vincent. Calling it enormous was apt, because it was considerably larger than May's.

"Ash," Paul said. "Ever since I lost to you. I questioned my strength. I knew I lacked compassion. It's hard to learn something like that. But I tried, and I won against Brandon."

"Isn't that great?" Ash smiled back earnestly. His face lightened up with a new idea.

"Let's have a rematch Paul," Ash pointed to Torterra, "I want to battle your strongest Pokémon."

"You want a one-on-one with Torterra?" Vincent looked between Ash and Paul. "You are quite the strange guy, Ash."

"Its fine," Paul said, "Let's battle."

"Well Paul did you forget the registration?" The blue haired Vincent asked. "Your ship's gonna depart by afternoon."

"I'll do it in Sinnoh," Paul smirked.

* * *

A considerable crowd surrounded the battlefield the two trainers chose. The normal crowd would mostly ignore a Pokémon battle, but Viridian was currently full of trainers prepared for registration and they apparently took interest in the Pokémon battle.

"Ash versus Paul," Alex muttered. "Let's see how good it is."

Their battle ground was a small public park nearby. Paul had a well-grown Torterra on his side. Alex could tell with a mere glance how powerful the Pokémon was.

'_He seems to be a lot stronger than Cynthia said,'_ Alex wondered. Was there actually a Pokémon in Ash's team that can fight this monster? Maybe that Infernape or Pignite could. Staraptor or Noctowl wouldn't be a bad choice either. Or better he could use that Glalie. It seemed good enough, and with an overwhelming type advantage it could defeat Torterra.

"Tauros, I chose you!"

With a mighty roar, the Wild Bull Pokémon signaled its presence. Its eyes were intimidating, carrying a rage fitting of a Pokémon with such stature. But that could have been wonderful only if Torterra showed any signs of intimidation. The Pokémon which was larger than Tauros merely watched its opponent like it was a minor trifle to be filed away.

Once again, his son made a strange decision. Instead of going with a type advantage he chose a Pokémon with a neutral type against Torterra.

"I was actually expecting Pikachu," Paul stated. "Well I guess you are wary of my Torterra's strength."

Ash remained silent, sending out his trade-mark-Ketchum smirk. He loved when his son put that look, but he seemed to use it too often than necessary.

So Paul was expecting him to do worse and use a Pokémon with type disadvantage? But yeah, from what he knew, he couldn't put his son above that.

'_Let's see how your prediction goes, Cynthia.'_

* * *

Ash will make the first move. It was a silent agreement between the two of them. Ash always loved to attack first and Paul always loves to study the opponent's attack first. It was an excellent match between their opposite tastes.

"Get ready, Tauros!" Ash signaled his Pokémon. The Pokémon was pumped by the trainer's motivation as it snorted and glared at Torterra with intimidating red eyes.

So he constantly motivates his Pokémon by reminding that they were in this together. Then he should do the same too.

"Let's win this, Torterra," he said trying to sound as natural as possible. The Pokémon turned to its trainer mildly surprised, but it turned back to its opponent and gave out a small grunt.

So encouragement works.

Are small trivial things like encouragement really this important? The Sinnoh League proved to him that it was a yes. He decided to show affection to his Pokémon if not for their sake, for winning at least.

He liked winning.

His attention shifted to Ash. He carried the same aura of confidence as ever. There were no doubts of his chance to win. Cocky as usual. Then he should remain passive till he gets high and high and drop him down.

Tauros were known for their physical prowess and their head on attacks. However Torterra was an ace at taking such attacks. Even a Flareblitz from Infernape wouldn't take him down, not that he would ever do something rash like that. So, what was it? Return? Tackle? Double Edge? Take Down? Rock Climb?

There were too many options, and he didn't know what that Tauros can use. So which attack is it Ash?

Ash raised his hand to the air, "Tauros—" Whatever it could be, Torterra could handle it without a sweat.

Ash completed his command. "Bulldoze!"

Damn that brat.

Tauros growled in response and lifted its front leg and landed the foot heavily on the soft ground. The ground instantly shook in response, shockwaves erupted from the surface, strands of leaves were thrown astray, blowing the wind at the same time.

The tremor shook the ground beneath Torterra. The heavy Pokémon planted its feet to the ground, its large expanse preventing it from any damage. Being a grass type meant that the damage done was further less.

Then why did he use this move? Ash isn't a fool. That much he could say.

'_What is it, Ash? Are you predicting some kind of reaction from me?'_

Paul waited till the Bulldoze ended. Torterra didn't budge, not even a tenth of an inch. So whatever Ash expected him to, Paul gave him a clear message: 'I won't move till you attack me head on.'

It was an open provocation and Ash would definitely fall for it.

"Bulldoze, one more time!"

Again? This time Paul was genuinely surprised.

The Bull Pokémon repeated the ground shaking move once more. The same thing repeated. Torterra didn't bother the attack and stood still.

Was he aiming for some kind of field effect? He took a look at the ground. The field was made specifically for Pokémon battles. It was a plain field with some grass and bushes here and there. If it were a muddy field then what Ash did could make sense.

"Dorderaa!" The Pokémon grunted at its trainer. Apparently doing nothing was boring it.

That's when the realization hit Paul.

* * *

"Holy Miltank," Alex didn't knew whether to laugh or be proud of his son's strategy. It was a dumb strategy, in a way but it actually takes some brain to think things in a different angle.

Ash intended on forcing Paul to attack. He was trying to wear down Torterra slowly with Bulldoze. Of course it won't work in long term because the damage done was very less. He simply wants to do some damage till he wears off Paul's patience.

Ash knows that the Paul guy was waiting for him to attack. He's scared if Paul might be setting up some kind of ambush if he attacks head on.

At this point Alex could throw a guess: Ash knows a lot about the other kid's Torterra. Knowing his son he might have actually challenged Paul to use his Torterra.

But the strategy he was using now was more like an attempt to draw the game, not win it. A Tauros can never put a Torterra in stalemate. Patience was a virtue Torterra possessed, not Tauros.

So if the Paul guy was actually smart and stays put, Ash would be the first to lose his patience. And the Ketchum's are well known for their impatience. So—

"Tauros, Take Down!"

Ash finally snapped.

* * *

Dust rose over the field as my Tauros charged at the gigantic tortoise with power enough to make a truck feel small.

Tauros was finally happy. He hated sitting and uselessly plowing the ground with Bulldoze. It's sad that my strategy was a failure. I tried provoking Paul's Torterra into attacking but it didn't work.

"Block it!"

Paul's commands were simple and never carried more than two words. It was an effective way of communicating. I wish I could be like him, but it's not my style.

Torterra braced for the attack, plunging its feet deep into the soil. As the wild bull came closer, Torterra pushed its skull forward to meet Tauros's head with its own.

Like a resonating sound wave, dust rose behind Torterra's hind legs similar to the one raised by Tauros's charge. The gigantic Pokémon was pushed a few steps back before it managed to hold its ground.

The wall of mass stopped the destructive force called Tauros from moving any further, but at the same time it didn't push forward in return. In otherwise it was simply being defensive. In that case—

"Put more power into it!"

Tauros did as directed. It put more power into the attack, this time forcing Torterra a few more inches back.

"Just like that buddy!" I encouraged.

Tauros let out a roar and put more power once again. The tortoise let out a surprised grunt as the Pokémon pushed it more and more. It could easily retaliate perhaps, but the trainer didn't make a move yet.

'_This is my power, Paul.' _I wanted to say. But knowing Paul this was just an attempt to give me false comfort.

"Torterra Gigadrain!" He commanded at last.

"Fall back!" I cried, almost immediately.

The stone like projections on Torterra's back grew a brilliant green. Three vines grew out of the projections and went on to grab Tauros. But having being warned well before Tauros stopped its charge and jumped back just in time. The green vines struck the ground, penetrating deep into the soil. The tortoise Pokémon opened its jaws in surprise to find its target safely behind the Gigadrain.

Paul glared at me, not expecting me to react so quickly. '_So you predicted me to do that?'_ was the look in his eyes.

Yes I did.

"Stoneedge!" He didn't waste a moment.

Torterra having failed to hit the target decided to take its revenge with a Stoneedge. A circular array of rocks was found orbiting around Torterra. The projectiles were then sent one after the other at the bull Pokémon.

Steel against Rock!

"Counter it with Ironhead!"

The bullet like stones was bounced like harmless pebbles when a flash of bright light shot past them. The flash charged at the immobile Torterra and struck it head on.

Torterra let out a painful grunt, the four claws on its feet plunged onto the ground to stop itself. But the soil said otherwise and crumbled under its grasp until friction finally dominated Tauros's attack power. With an unexpected snarl, Torterra took a step forward and pushed Tauros back with its head. Even the ever docile Torterra couldn't tolerate getting pushed back like that.

Tauros back tracked a few steps back. Torterra was glaring at him, prepared to go for the offense.

I was really in a fix here. I wanted to have a head on confrontation with Torterra, but the problem was getting into a close ranged battle with Torterra was dangerous, and the only attacks Tauros knew were close ranged ones. For once I wanted to curse my thoughtlessness.

But, if we could do a hit and run tactic, then maybe we could have a chance. Or I could do _that._

"Tauros, Take Down!" I commanded.

Tauros charged at the tank, the ground trembled as its hooves touched the ground. I would never want to be on the receiving end of the attack, But Torterra was a completely different case. To take an attack like that he must have a really hard shell. I wonder if my Torterra could take attacks like that.

"It's coming," Paul's eyebrows twitched. "Gigadrain!"

The three green vines shot for the head-on charging Tauros.

"Full force!" I exclaimed.

Tauros doubled its speed as the tortoise came closer. At the same time when it crashed into Torterra with a sound similar to banging a wooden door, two of the Gigadrain caught Torterra by the horns.

But the impact of the Takedown was larger than anyone expected, Tauros pushed and pushed Torterra back.

"Hold fast!" Paul said.

It was only a matter of time before Gigadrain takes over Tauros and leech its health away.

"Tauros, lift Torterra into the air!"

A collective gasp surrounded me. _Everyone_ was taken aback by the command, even Paul. He stared at me with a bewildered expression.

Tauros lowered its head, catching Torterra's horns with its own.

"Impossible," Paul muttered with a frown.

"It won't make it," someone muttered.

"That Torterra is too heavy," another of the crowd commented.

Defying all other expectations, fighting the impossible, Tauros rammed the ground with its feet and propelled up the weight on its horns. At first Torterra's hind legs rose by half-a-inch, the green vine sparked with energy as it began to absorb Tauros.

"It actually lifted it!" There was a buzz in the crowd.

"Just wait, it will put it down in a second." A nameless woman was bragging to her friend.

They were all wrong. I believed in my Pokémon.

"You can do it, Tauros!" I cheered.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried in encouragement.

My last words had a significant effect. Tauros grunted, snorting a gallon of air out of its lungs. With an unbelievable motion it lifted Torterra completely off the ground and tossed the hefty mass into the air.

A collective gasp surrounded me, as almost everyone around stared at Torterra, ten feet above the ground, with open mouths.

With a ground-breaking impact, that almost shook me off my feet Torterra landed with a heavy thud, crunching the ground underneath. My vision was blurred by the dust that enveloped the entire region.

I covered my face with my hand, dust and smoke was something I saw lot often in Pokémon battles. The trainers around however were unprepared, and coughed as the dust seeped into their nostrils.

It wasn't before a whole minute that the vision returned. Two silhouettes appeared as the dust thinned down. One was the standing Tauros and the other was Torterra, upside down, limped to its left, groaning in pain.

Paul's purple eyebrows were touched down in a frown. He was mad. Being in a disadvantage was my advantage after all.

"Get back to your feet," Paul said, except his voice didn't have the same curt expression, or snappy tone he had whenever his Pokémon fell in an uncomfortable situation. He changed.

Torterra tried to swing its airborne right leg. The entire shell moved about the grounded left part, using the tree on the right part of its shell as a fulcrum and heavily landed its right foot.

Torterra managed to come out of its uncomfortable fix in just one swoop. There weren't any useless struggles, only a perfect swing of its entire body to get out of the situation all other turtle Pokémon dreaded in a battle. I knew how difficult it was because I have three such Pokémon.

It was simply amazing.

Paul has trained his Torterra to come out of the most extreme situations. He thinks a lot more than just attacks and defense. Unlike me, he trained his Pokémon on every single outcome, no matter how less likely it was.

"Your Tauros is good," Paul smiled. But behind it was a calculative shrewd trainer. He was preparing to counterattack. It couldn't be helped that the only course of attack we had was a straight on collision.

"If it were anything else than your Torterra we could have won already," I retorted back.

Tauros was steadily losing his stamina. But as long as we dodge his attacks, we could still use a ton of Take Downs.

* * *

"We have cornered them Tauros," Ash said to his Pokémon, "Let's finish this once for all, Take Down!"

It was true, Brock realized. Torterra was pretty ragged, but would it be finished with the next attack? Unlikely. This was Paul's Torterra they were talking about. Ash knows it better than anyone. Maybe he was simply encouraging Tauros to put it all.

Tauros charged at its opponent, the usual trail of dust following it.

"Ash seems confident," May commented. "They are doing the same attack again."

"Gigadrain," Paul said. His voice was back to serious mode.

"Again?!" Dawn exclaimed. "Didn't Torterra fail the first time?"

"Paul isn't Ash," Brock stated. "He won't use the same move again unless he's very sure about it." Brock stated.

"Wow, you make Ash sound bad," May said.

"It's just that Ash's way of doing things is unusual," Brock said.

Torterra prepared its three green sparkling vines once more. As Tauros approached the Tortoise, the said Pokémon sent two vines to grab Tauros's horns one more time.

Ash exclaimed, "Let's lift it again Tauros!"

"Grab its neck," Paul said at the last minute.

Brock exclaimed, "This is bad!"

* * *

Perfection.

Paul liked it, and wanted it more than anything. And this was perfect.

Torterra's three vines completely took control of Tauros. It was foolish to stop Tauros's charge directly. He made the mistake first time. The first time, he tried to catch hold of the horns and pull it down to the ground, but Tauros was too fast and strong for Torterra to do that. But this was—

Perfect.

Tauros let out what was a mixture of a grunt and a groan. Two vines held the horns, while the third was wrapped around its neck, like a leash. The sudden pressure on its neck stopped Tauros completely.

"Don't give up Tauros, attack!"

Tauros pushed itself forward, despite the painful leeching vine on its neck and tackled Torterra. But the attack lacked the previous momentum.

Gigadrain began its work, leeching away Tauros's health. Consequently Torterra's fatigue was slowly disappearing. Its ragged breath was becoming steady.

Yes its breath was ragged. Most people don't notice when Torterra goes out of breath because it normally takes one breath per 3 minutes or so. But when damaged heavily it takes two per minute. Hardly noticeable for an outsider, but the trainer can easily figure out its situation.

Tauros realized the trouble it was in. Its legs were slowly losing energy. It panicked and tried to move back, but the leash around its neck stopped it.

"Tauros!" Ash panicked. Things were finally going his way. A smile crept across Paul's face.

Tauros tried to desperately pull back, but what it could only do was raise its two legs and fall forwards again. Escaping was impossible, Paul made sure of that.

He noticed the expression on Ash's face. The panic was still there, but he was calmer. His brain seems to be working.

When Ash's cornered he would do something crazy. Paul knew that much. But predicting what he would do was the exciting part. He should think the same way Ash does.

What could he possibly do in a situation like this? Ramming into Torterra was impossible, they were too close to do that, and would only waste energy. Then that would leave his—

Legs. He noticed Tauros's legs were completely free. Yes, he would do that. Then the attack coming would be—

"Tauros use Bulldoze on Torterra's head!" Ash cried, with his fists clenched.

Just as expected. Then he shall let him do that, let him squirm his freedom back.

Tauros lifted its front legs at once and thrust them at Torterra's weak spot, the part above its head.

Wham!

The impact was larger than Paul thought. The power Tauros put on the attack was harder than usual. The impact on its head caused Torterra's hind legs to rise. The tortoise's grasp on the bull was loosened. Tauros used the chance to stagger back.

Now for the final attack.

"Frenzy Plant!"

Just as Tauros began to distance itself from the Pokémon, twelve large monstrous and jagged plants rose from the ground. The bull halted its retreat and looked back in terror.

Three of the plants went for Tauros. It all happened quickly the Pokémon had no time to dodge.

Paul could have used Frenzy plant earlier, but there was an issue, He didn't know Tauros's fourth move yet. Besides Tauros was so fast that, unless it was a surprise it could actually dodge the attack. Missing a Frenzy Plant was something Paul couldn't afford.

But now it's over. It's game.

"Your horns!"

'_Horns?' _Paul was bewildered.

The Frenzy plants were supposed to strike Tauros, and the impact should be good enough to toss it away a good distance. But instead—

Tauros was still standing underneath the three plants, its legs trembling under the impact. It held the Frenzy plants between its horns!

The attack would have finished Tauros if it had hit. But Ash made sure it didn't. The battle wasn't over yet. Only Ash can do something unusual like this.

There were still nine frenzy plants under Torterra's control. He could try finishing the bull off. It wasn't too late.

Ever since Torterra learned Frenzy Plant he learnt the strengths and weaknesses of the attack. Torterra could summon twelve plants at once. Each of these plants could be used once before they turn immobile. Paul used this fact many a times for his advantage. There was no time to make a decision; he should just strike while Tauros was still defensive.

"Finish it off!" Paul barked his command.

Torterra having understood his command moved the remaining nine plants at once.

Meanwhile Tauros wriggled out from below the three plants only to find nine more lunging at it.

"Tauros, Double Team!"

'_What the heck!'_

As Frenzy Plant #4 moved onto Tauros the Pokémon jumped above it and split into six images.

Not good at all.

Fine then he would strike them all at once.

"Attack them all!" Paul barked.

Frenzy Plant #5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 hit the five images. When #10 was about hit the real one, the Pokémon leapt away from the crashing plant.

#11 and 12 were aimed to catch it but the Pokémon dodged them with relative ease too.

Paul gritted his teeth with immense dissatisfaction as Tauros weaved between the plants and came towards Torterra.

This was what he feared the most, and to think he actually let that happen.

"Torterra can't move," there was a smile of victory on Ash's face, "Take Down!"

* * *

A powerful impact knocked Torterra a good foot away.

"Dorderaa!" The Pokémon growled in pain. Tauros did an excellent job.

"This time use Iron head."

Tauros moved back and charged once more, this time with a flashy aura surrounding it. It struck Torterra once more, this time with more power.

The heavy Pokémon was sent sliding like a football. But as it slid back towards Paul, its legs finally regained mobility and clasped the ground underneath, braking itself to a stop.

Paul had a deep frown on his face. Torterra must be reaching its limits. Heck it should have fainted by now, I just couldn't believe how many attacks it could take. I understand Torterra were supposed to be defensive but this was too much.

Paul's stance changed. He looked all laid back till now, but now he seemed more excited. Maybe he finally decided it was time to go full offensive.

"Stoneedge!" He commanded.

"Use Double Team to dodge!"

The six images of Tauros were rained upon by the sharp projectiles, but the original darted between them and stood before Torterra unscathed.

"Gigadrain!" The Pokémon said as done.

"Dodge again!" Tauros hopped above the vines aimed at its leg, then dodged the next one that tried to grab its neck and the final one that tried to plunge its belly.

"Don't let it go! Keep attacking."

The vines chased Tauros, trying to pierce the bull. The bull Pokémon jumped, hopped, and sprinted. He dodged every last of them. At some point I lost the count of rounds we dodged the attack for.

The relentless Gigadrain finally stopped despite the trainer not commanding so. Torterra was out of breath, I noticed. He was panting, opening and closing his jaws to take in the air through his mouth along with his nose.

I examined my own Pokémon. Tauros was worse; its legs were bruised, trembling ready to buckle down anytime. It struck its tongue out as it desperately tried to take the fresh air inside.

Torterra shifted its body and grumbled something to Paul. Paul closed his eyes, and smiled in satisfaction.

Did something happen?

"You have finally brought Torterra down to half its health," he proclaimed.

You have to be kidding me. Tauros was almost down. It's just a bluff. It's just a bluff.

"We could do it the slow way," Paul said. "I could keep attacking you. Your Tauros has good stamina but I wonder how long it could dodge. Your Pokémon must be reaching its limit."

I remained silent. It was all true. This was what happened in Lake Acuity too. Gliscor kept attacking it with super-effective attacks, and Chimchar hit repeatedly with flamethrowers, which could have hurt a lot despite the light screen and yet he had a lot of energy left. We were actually better this time. Tauros did a lot more damage than Gliscor and Chimchar combined. Should I be proud?

"Thanks to you I found a new strength within my Pokémon," Paul said.

New strength? Thanks to me?

"Torterra, activate it," he said casually placing his arms inside his pocket.

"Activate what?" I asked.

As if to answer my question Torterra stretched its body. A green aura surrounded every corner of its body, from the head to the short tail behind.

It was pure energy and Torterra was full of it. It was Torterra's special ability, Overgrow.

"B-But how?" Overgrow was a special ability that kicked when the Pokémon was extremely low in health. It was a temporary surge of energy. A last resort. Not something you can unleash whenever you want.

"_Thanks to you I found a new strength within my Pokémon."_

"_You turned Paul into a monster, you know?"_

So this was what they were talking about. Paul used his Pokémon as brainless tools and yet brought out strength out of them. But now he treated them with love and respect. I always thought the only difference between me and Paul was I cared for my Pokémon, and caring for my Pokémon's feelings was my strength. That was actually why I managed to defeat Paul in the Sinnoh League. But now I lost my advantage. I had no upper hand above him. The truth—

I am outclassed.

I can't beat him, not like this. This isn't the Paul I know, he's something more. The smirk he carried wasn't arrogance, it was confidence. He didn't say he would win, he _knew_ he would win. I-I…

"Pikapi?" Pikachu noticed the hesitation inside my eyes.

"I know Pikachu," I said. "I can't lose to him. I _won't _lose to him."

"Let's decide this in one move," Paul said.

Just like the Sinnoh League battle.

"Fine by me," I said.

We studied each other. His eyes bore into me and mine into him.

"Tauros—"

"Torterra—"

We said at the same time.

"Take Down!"

"Frenzy Plant!"

Tauros charged at the glowing tortoise as if it were the last wall he needed to cross to reach paradise. The wall however proved too strong for him to scale.

With a final grunt Torterra performed the dynamic grass type move, Frenzy Plant. The ground splintered, giving way to the enormous trees from underneath.

The sights before made me gasp at once. The crowd which constantly muttered comments turned silent and the determined Tauros lost its will and stopped in its tracks.

Lying before was literally a forest of frenzy plant. They were innumerable, making the last Frenzy Plant a big joke in comparison. The plants moved like organisms that had a life of their own. Standing amidst the forest was a bright green light, the mastermind, the final boss, Torterra.

The attack made me lose any hope at once. I couldn't win, not against this. No one can win against this. This was monstrous, unearthly. I doubt if even Mewtwo could win against this.

Maybe the last statement was an exaggeration but that was what I felt at that time.

I lost.

"_You turned Paul into a monster, you know?"_

Yes I did. A monster not in the sense that he was a demon to slay, or a terrible person but an extremely powerful trainer that you cannot imagine to defeat, even on your best day.

I looked at Tauros, terrified as its legs trembled and unconsciously took a few steps back. It irked its ears, waiting for me to say something encouraging, but I was too stupefied. Pikachu didn't add any encouragement either. I can't blame him.

If anyone can still see a chance of victory in front of this, they are either ridiculously strong or don't have a brain inside their head.

"Finish it," I heard Paul's muffled voice from behind the wall.

The plants rained on Tauros, as it didn't even try to dodge the attack. Telling to dodge that was the worst practical joke one could make.

* * *

Silence engulfed the huge gathering. Everyone including Alex neither moved nor made any noise.

"I won," Paul said breaking the impregnable silence.

The field was all battered. The trees that were brought from the ground slid back into the ground. Torterra was standing still, like it stood from the beginning. It never moved, it was only pushed, thrown by the other Pokémon. It never moved on its own.

Tauros was unconscious, sprawled on its four legs. Its tongue was stuck out, eyes dazed. Its body was filled with injuries and cuts all over.

Ash lowered his head, defeated. His fists were no longer clenched. They simply hung to his shoulders as if they had no energy in them. His face was partially covered by his red hat.

He silently walked over to Tauros and brushed the unconscious Pokémon's fur. "You did an excellent job. I am proud of you." His voice was weak, almost inaudible. He took the Pokémon inside its Pokeball.

Paul did the same before muttering praise for his Pokémon.

The silence returned. Ash simply looked into the ground. He lost the courage to face Paul.

Alex knew how it felt to be in his position. He experienced it more than once. No, he experienced it on a regular basis in Rosenburg.

A single clap broke the silence. The person clapped once more, and was soon joined by a wave of claps. Alex hesitated for a second, but decided to join in the mass of clapping.

It was good while it lasted.

'_Cynthia your predictions on Paul were wrong.'_

Paul doesn't need five more years.

* * *

"Ash," the blue-haired Vincent lent me a hand. I wanted to refuse him. I can stand on my own. But I took his hand anyway. "Now you understand what I meant? He's practically unbeatable now."

The crowd began to disperse now that the fun was over.

Brock was close by. He approached us and placed a friendly arm on my shoulders. "You were amazing Ash. It's just that—"

"He's better." I cut in. I am not a kid anymore. I can accept facts, to an extent at least.

"Don't worry Ash," Dawn said. "You can beat him the next time if you train hard. I can help if you want. You have one year for the League."

I wonder. I doubt if even Charizard could beat that power. Even if I were to rely on Charizard, in a full battle he could always use five other Pokémon that can take care of Charizard.

"Not to pour water on your dreams but," Vincent said. "Paul is going to train under Brandon in Snowpoint till the next year."

"Brandon?" May asked, "The frontier brain? Why would he go to Sinnoh?"

"Brandon left his three Regis in Snowpoint. So they would train—" Dawn paused. "Oh, hey Paul."

Paul walked towards us. There was a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. He was perhaps contemplating on how to talk after defeating me like that.

Despite the pressing doubts of future in my heart, I smiled. "You were amazing Paul."

Paul seemed to be shocked by the response. He looked at me bewildered for a second. "I owe it to you and Brandon."

"Where's he?" I asked.

"He said he'll follow me up after he finished something here."

"Well Paul," May stepped forward, "My name is May, and I am a coordinator from Hoenn."

Paul looked at her hand for a second, and gingerly touched her hand. For some reason he shifted his eyes to the ground as if he were hiding something. Something was wrong with him.

"Wow," Dawn whispered into my ear.

Vincent who heard her chuckled.

"To all of you, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Vincent. Paul and I were rivals since we got our first Pokémon."

"Saur," the Venusaur behind him growled.

"Your Venusaur is really huge," May said examining the Pokémon.

The conversation casually drifted off topic. I remained silent all the time. Paul and I exchanged awkward glances once in a while. For some reason he was silent too. The topic moved from introductions to their hobbies to Brock's love life. At that point Brock cut the conversation. "Dawn aren't you supposed to book a ticket to Sinnoh."

She let out a gasp, "Oh, I forgot. Let's hurry!"

"Paul, the S.S Sinnoh might be here anytime soon," Vincent reminded him. "You gotta go too."

* * *

The S.S Sinnoh bellowed as it sent a final warning signal to its passengers who were yet to board.

Paul and Ash moved closely with Vincent a few steps behind. They didn't have any conversation, they simply walked together.

"Who would have thought they would become so close," Dawn said. Brock had to agree. Ash and Paul were bitter rivals the last time they saw them together.

"Paul doesn't seem to be the type to open himself to others," May said. "Did you see him blush when we shook hands?"

"Maybe he isn't used to have people around," Brock said. The only person he saw Paul move closely with was Reggie. He seemed to be close to Vincent too.

"He used to be extremely rude," Dawn said. "He never even considered talking with me. The only thing we talked about was Ash."

"I could take a guess," Brock said. "Paul isn't used to talking with people. Maybe he reasoned with himself that talking to people is just a waste of time. Hence the rude remarks."

Brock could tell so because his youngest brother was similar too. The correct word was—

"An introvert," Brock said after thinking for a while. Having a large family paid off.

"I guess," May agreed.

Brock and the two girls stopped at a distance from the three trainers. Before boarding the ship Paul turned back and said something to Ash. He couldn't hear what it was but it stung Ash, because even from the distance he saw Ash clench his fists.

* * *

"Goodbye Ash," Vincent waved to me as he took the bus to Fuchsia. "It's nice meeting you. Good luck with your league training."

"Same to you too!" I waved back. He seemed nice; it was my obligation to return the courtesy back.

"Alright guys, time to go home," I collected their attention. "Dad must be sick of waiting for us."

"Ash, what did Paul tell you before he left?" Brock asked.

The mention of what Paul said earlier made me stiffen.

"_I wanted to say this because you are my friend. I guess I could call you that."_

"_Ash, get stronger."_

With just three words he told me a lot. He told me I wasn't ready for the league. He wanted me to get stronger because he wants to defeat me at my full strength.

It was something Paul shared with me alone. I needn't tell about it to anybody. "Three words," I said instead and walked towards the main road.

"Three words?" Dawn asked in confusion.

"Three words!" May squealed at the same time. I didn't know what she understood from that, I simply didn't care.

As we approached the main road a familiar figure was standing there, resting his back on the jeep. "You kids have kept me waitin' for two hours."

"You watched me battle, didn't you?" I asked ignoring his remark. I saw him watching the battle, but I didn't give it much thought back then. He disappeared right after it.

He sighed, "I did."

"What did you think?" It was a straight question. At this moment I wanted someone who could reply to me honestly. Brock, May and Dawn poured words of encouragement, but that wasn't what I needed. An honest opinion and the only person who could give that was dad.

"You sucked," he said. For some reason I wasn't hurt, I was actually expecting that. A mischievous smile crept on his face, "Just kidding. You were excellent."

I was excellent? What a joke. "Dad I don't want your sweet talk. Be honest."

"I am not your mom dummy," he pounded on my head with his bare knuckle. "You were excellent, and that's that."

"But I lost," My eyes sank to the ground. I felt ashamed.

"This isn't like you kid. Bounce back when you lose, that's the Ketchum way!" Alex said. "So that Paul guy overwhelmed you, huh?"

It was true. Every time I lost, I always recovered immediately. Sulking like this, the last time I did so was when Brawly beat me in the Dewford Gym.

"Kid," he said after a pause. "I swear it on the crushes those girls have on you," Dad pointed to May and Dawn who were watching the whole ordeal between me and dad. "I'll make you strong."

* * *

"Mr. Ketchum, that's highly inappropriate!" Dawn shrieked impulsively, her face was red.

May was about to say something too but stopped as she realized what Alex meant.

"D-Dad?" Ash was shocked. He was trying to say something but he was too shocked to say anything.

Brock began, "Mr. Ketchum, are you saying that—"

"Yes. I'll train Ash for the League starting from tomorrow."

May looked at Ash, studying his reaction. "Does that mean you have accepted my battle style?" He asked.

"Not completely," his father said. "But I see how you consistently get results with it so we can work on it. Besides the things my teacher Mao taught would suit you better than they suit me."

"Really?" Ash seemed excited.

"Yeah," the father said. "The league starts on October 1st 2013. That's exactly 364 days from tonight."

May casually checked her watch. It was indeed October 1st today. Then she remembered Max's birthday was October 7th. Her little brother would finally have a Pokémon. It's been two years since their journey with Ash.

Ash grew up well as a Pokémon trainer. _'I shouldn't fall back either.'_ She warned herself.

She smiled as the Ketchum ordered his Pikachu to thunderbolt to check if he was dreaming. The rodent promptly obeyed him.

* * *

**Authorial Rambling**

I liked writing this chapter. I suppose I shouldn't be commenting on what I wrote, so you guys comment on it instead.

The Paul I am showing you guys might be weird outside battles, but in a battle Paul is as ruthless as ever. I personally love writing Paul. He's a grumpy kid with attitude, its fun to play with him.

Vincent is based on the girl who defeated Richie in the Indigo League Semifinals who has an Ivysaur. I thought it was a guy, but when I checked it was a girl. I didn't like changing the gender so I made him a complete OC. I even adjusted her age.

In case you want to check her Google 'Pokémon Assunta'

Time Line: I have adjusted the anime time line to present. So it means Ash started his journey in 2007 and Alex left the family in 2002.

* * *

**A Question for Reviewers**

Name a Canon CoTD/ League Rival you want to see in the World Tournament. It won't be necessary that Ash battles them all, but I'll at least bring their character during the course of the League.

Btw I don't accept OC requests, I make my own.

* * *

**Other News:**

**Legend of the Dark Prince**

I am still stagnant on my other fic: Legend of the Dark Prince. The chapter to be posted is ready, but I have a bit of conflict with myself about a certain character. People waiting for it: Be patient. I am also going to edit the first few chapters because the quality seems to be lacking when compared to the newer chapters.

**Romance and The Pokemon Master:**

I will be very happy if anyone would adopt this story. You can start the story from the scratch, and write your own plot or continue with mine. Interested people can PM First come first serve.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon. But I own this fan fiction.


	4. Multiple Thunderbolt!

**A suggestion: Adjust the Story Width to 1/2 for best read. It's easier on the eyes.**

**~*~ 4. Multiple Thunderbolt! ~*~**

**Countdown 364: 18:07: 51**

**October 2****nd**

"Muk, sludge bomb on Sceptile!"

The silence in the pleasant outskirts of Pallet Town was disturbed thanks to an enthusiastic trainer who was preparing for the Pokémon World Tournament. Needless to say, the enthusiastic trainer was me, Ash Ketchum.

The slimy Pokémon opened its mouth, which was large enough to gobble a child, and shot out the projectile attack. The reptilian Pokémon Sceptile however dodged the attack with ease.

"One more time!"

Muk tried the move again, sending out yet another slimy bullet at Sceptile, but the attack was far from hitting. Sceptile's movements were beyond comprehension. One second he was in front of you, and in the next he doesn't.

I knew Sceptile was fast but this was better than I remembered. It seems he had been training on his own at Oak's. I am really lucky to have a Pokémon like that.

"I'm surprised Ash," Dad muttered, "This one is pretty strong. I think we can give it a backseat on the training regime."

I turned to Sceptile who was slightly disappointed, but it's the truth. My training with dad had just begun one hour ago. We matched up my Pokémon against each other and gauge their abilities. It was to determine which Pokémon deserved more attention, and which could train on its own.

"But don't worry," Dad spoke, "Let's put Infernape as its training partner. That way they can train on their own while we pick up the ones you neglected a lot."

My lips pursed. I hate it how he constantly rubbed on my face that some of my Pokémon were untrained.

"_Having an elite team with six good Pokémon and neglecting your remaining is a terrible strategy. Your opponent will easily counter your line up. In fact you have to save your ace Pokémon for the last."_

I had to agree. Paul constantly rotated his Poké his Pokémon were amazing because the lesser trained ones were forced to learn from the experienced ones. It was precisely what my dad and I were doing now.

I looked at the horde of Pokémon around me, all of them were mine, and I can tell most of them need to be retrained to be ready for the Pokémon League.

"Okay Ash, the list's done."

Dad held a notepad. He was constantly jotting down something as I picked my Pokémon randomly and pitted them against each other. He was collecting data, from what he observed, and from my Pokédex.

"So, how's it?" I asked.

"Worse than I expected," he said with a wry smile. "One year will be enough just to shape your team up. I wanted to do more."

"Shape up?" I didn't understand what exactly he meant by that.

"Some of your Pokémon aren't par with the standards," he said. "Some like Sceptile and Infernape are very good while some are well, need a good workout. It's a mixed bag."

I nodded. I didn't train few Pokémon for a while. I trained Muk, Torkoal and few others for the Sinnoh League but that wasn't enough actually. It was last minute hurried training.

"Ash, there are few things that I want to teach all of your Pokémon but first, I want to teach Pikachu something before we begin with the others."

"Pikachu?" I was surprised. Pikachu was always with me, and if there was anyone in my team who was up to date with powerful moves, it was Pikachu.

"Yes," he nodded. "Ash have you ever seen the elites use an electric type move?"

My memory wasn't a sharp one. Even if I did watch someone using it, I would have probably forgotten about it. "No," I said.

He let out a sigh, as if he were dealing a hopeless case. "Electric types have a gift that other types don't."

A gift?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Let me finish," he grumbled. "Unlike other types like Fire, water and few other types, electric types can split their attack power and use it on multiple targets."

My face remained blank. The old man sighed once more, "Let me show it."

He plucked a Pokéball out of his belt. "Ampharos, come out!"

The wool Pokémon materialized with a flash. Its surface glistened with a rich yellow fur that somehow made me feel it was something 'special'. Perhaps this was what Brock and Cilan notice when they critique a Pokémon's strength by just looking at it. It's definitely not your average Ampharos.

"Pick five targets for me," he said. "Make sure they are far apart."

I didn't understand what he was planning, but decided to go with what he said. "Okay," I said, looking around.

After a few seconds of thinking I chose the targets. Three of them were trees on my left, right and front. The fourth target was a distant boulder, and the fifth was Donphan, who was glad that he was the target.

"Nice choices," Dad muttered. All the five were in five different directions, as he wanted. He exchanged a confident glance with his electric type. "Ampharos, use thunderbolt on all the five targets!"

All five? Would they attack one after the other or—? I was beginning to realize what Dad meant now.

The Light Pokémon, took a perfect stance, and exerted out electricity out of its body. The yellow sparks that matched its body color shot out, spreading in five directions at once. Being close to the flash, I closed my eyes reflexively.

I heard five explosions, all at once, and the collective gasp of all my Pokémon.

Curious, I opened my eyes, and found the four non-Pokémon targets singed black due to the electricity, and Donphan growling in happiness as he enjoyed the static spreading through his body.

"It hit all of them at once?" I asked, still not believing.

"Pika!" Pikachu asked Ampharos the same, while the latter folded its arms, enjoying the startled looks from Pikachu.

"Yep," Dad nodded. "This is what I have been saying."

"Wait. Isn't this just like discharge?" Both Iris's Emolga and Dawn's Pachirisu know that move.

"Idiot," Dad glared at me, as if saying that was blasphemy. "Discharge is just pushing electricity out of your body. Thunderbolt is an _art. _Telling multiple thunderbolt and Discharge are same is an insult to electric types everywhere."

"Multiple Thunderbolts is basically using five perfectly concentrated thunderbolts on multiple targets. It's a perfect strategy to beat Double team, or hit Pokémon that move pretty fast. Plus, using five bolts at once will improve your Pikachu's stamina, and when a situation comes where using one thunderbolt will be enough—"

"The power will be five times a normal thunderbolt!" I exclaimed. What a brilliant technique! Now I understand why he was pissed off when I compared it to discharge.

"But it's not that easy, kid," his lips broke in an expressionless smile. "Your Pikachu will be working on it while we deal with the others. So let's spend some time till breakfast on Pikachu, what do you say?"

"Awesome!" I jumped.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu echoed my feelings.

* * *

"So he burned your bicycle too?" Mrs. Ketchum was in the kitchen busy cooking, while an enthusiastic Dawn was chatting about their Sinnoh adventures.

"I didn't mind it though," she said. "I got to travel with Ash and Brock thanks to that."

"You are such a sweet girl," the older woman smiled. "I should probably make Alex pay for that. He said he and Ash will be doing a part-time job for the whole year."

"A part-time job?" Misty entered the kitchen, she was half-groggy, and rubbed her eyes. "Shouldn't they be training?"

"Well Alex said it was part of his training," Delia tapped her chin with her finger, "Now that you ask me, I think it sounds fishy. He didn't give me any details about it."

Meanwhile Misty took a seat beside Dawn, and whispered into her ears, "So what did you think about it?"

Dawn was petrified. She half-expected Misty to forget about that. Last night was truly terrible. Iris, Misty and May ganged upon her and began demanding to talk about her feelings on few private matters. In the end she gave in to their assaults, and told that she had some considerable amount of feelings towards Kenny, Ash and Paul.

The last one threw them into group hysteria. Well it was certainly unusual to find a completely not-handsome, silent, cold-hearted freak who was obsessed about winning the champion's league attractive. But based on Reggie's views on Paul, she thought of his positive side, and why he turned into what he was. But of course she didn't share any of that with the other three, so they cut it off as a 'weird fantasy'.

The rest of the discussion turned towards Ash. Apparently Brock told Misty how she cheered Ash during the gym battles.

"_I simply like dressing up. It's nothing to do with Ash."_ She said that, but of course they didn't bother to listen to her, because they were full on convincing her otherwise.

In the end she admitted she had a wee-bit crush on him, but mostly looked him as a friend. Of course that wee-bit was enough to throw them into chaos.

"I told you, I have some little teenage crush. It's nothing," she said with a frown.

"You talk as if you are no longer a teen." Misty grinned, "Iris has some plans before you leave to Sinnoh, today."

Dawn realized the torture didn't end.

* * *

"Pikachu, Double Thunderbolt!"

The yellow rodent growled and sent a powerful thunderbolt at the first target, and then on the second. Either thunderbolts were done hastily in succession and barely had an impact on the targets.

"I say for the thousandth time," Alex gritted his teeth. "Don't use two thunderbolts!"

Jeez, teaching required a lot more patience than he thought, and unfortunately he didn't have much.

"I am trying, but we can't get it!" The kid was frustrated. He hated being scolded, which made it more the fun for Alex. Looking at a miniature version of himself, he remembered how he was constantly scolded by his teacher Mao. It was a wonderful mental exercise to him, and helped him in the battles.

Ash's brain was ticking. He was thinking something to overcome this obstacle that put them out for two hours. There was something strange about him. Most of the time he doesn't use his head, and when he does, he comes up with an impossible plan and actually succeed.

This wasn't something the Ketchum's possessed; it had to with Delia's line. Delia's father and her forefathers were people who preferred a peaceful life over an adventurous life style which the Ketchum's loved. But they were known for their quick wit in handling the land disputes that happened a lot in 1997.

Ash had them both. The quick-wit from his mother and the undying fighting spirit of his father.

"I have an idea," Ash's face brightened up suddenly.

"Just like always," Alex muttered. He asked, "What is it?"

"Just watch," Ash said. "Pikachu, use a normal Thunderbolt!"

The little rodent nodded, and let out a single thunderbolt on its training partner, Donphan.

"Good, hold it for some time," he said. The rodent did as told, and continued to use the thunderbolt on Donphan.

Holding a thunderbolt for more than one minute would be dangerous for a Pokémon. Alex ought to warn Ash about it, but he held back. He couldn't just interrupt one of Ash's miracles, right?

"Now use another thunderbolt on Krookodile!" He pointed at the second partner who stood beside Pikachu.

"You are asking for the impossible," Alex blurted in surprise. He expected the kid to do something weird but _this._ "You can't add another thunderbolt while using—"

Pikachu's whimpers cut his attention. Despite the difficulty and impossibility, the rodent continued to maintain the attack on Donphan, clenched its fists tightly to plunge out another thunderbolt.

Alex let out a gasp. At first it was a faint trickle, but then it began to grow and within a flash, a second bolt of electricity erupted and struck Krookodile at amazing speed.

"You did it!" Ash exclaimed.

Whether it was the relief of success or it simply ran out of energy, Pikachu stopped the simultaneous attacks and collapsed on its back.

"Pikachu!" Ash lunged for the rodent, and caught the falling rat. He gently lifted the Pokémon, and brushed its head. "You okay buddy?"

The Pokémon struggled to put up what seemed like a smile of victory and fainted.

"Using a thunderbolt continuously for three minutes was too much," Alex said. "Don't worry; I think your doctor friend will heal him in no time."

Ash nodded. "I should have considered his limits before trying that," he looked guilty.

* * *

"It's out of electricity," Brock examined the rodent, he was surprised.

It was a surprise to Misty too, because Pikachu never ran out of electricity, except maybe when—

"Wow, I have never seen it go out of electricity since Viridian," Misty muttered.

To put Pikachu under this much strain, he must be training real hard to win the League. Misty felt her own determination swelling up inside. Ash has always been her source of inspiration. Maybe it was because of him that she really began focusing on improving her career. Till then all she did was blabber about becoming a water Pokémon master.

Misty watched, as Brock strapped two wires onto Pikachu's cheeks. The wires were connected to a small generator. Ash, Alex, and the four girls watched Tracey turn on the generator.

"It never ran out of electricity because of fatigue," Ash said, his face full of remorse.

Ah, so it ran out of electricity for other reasons? It seems those two faced lot more difficult situations than she thought.

"It's breakfast time!"

A humming tune diverted the attention from everyone.

"All of you must be hungry by now." Cilan appeared with a cover in his hands, "Special breakfast delivery right from the artistic hands of Mrs. Ketchum. Prepare yourself for an unbelievable, fantastic, gorgeous and appetizing breakfast. The food is definitely bound to satisfy your rumbling stomachs with a satisfactory taste!" He added with a theatrical dance.

Silence hit them all like a typhoon as the group silently stared at Cilan. Half in sympathy, half in annoyance.

"I told you his sommelier actions are a pain," Iris whispered. Misty couldn't help but agree.

* * *

After the breakfast the foursome girls scurried out of Oak's lab to discuss something in seclusion. They were currently in courtyard. May looked around checking if anyone was spying or following them. She then gave Iris a thumbs-up. It was time for fun!

"Look Dawn," Iris chided the blue-haired. "Last night, you were telling about Ash being naïve because he's too focused on his goal?"

"I did," Dawn put a sulky expression, unhappy with the line of discussion. "What about it?"

"Prove it to us," Iris said brushing her hair. "I want you to hit on Ash."

At that point May, who was peacefully having a drink of orange, spat out the contents out at once. "Iris that's—"

"You are going way too far this time," Misty said brusquely.

Iris however looked at them, hiding a venomous grin, "Are the two of you scared that Ash may fall for her?"

The comment left the two girls stupefied. Saying yes means admitting weakness, but if they would say 'No' then Iris will attack them instead.

Looking at their blank faces, Iris scoffed. She asked Dawn, "Won't you be leaving tonight? This is your last chance till the next year. Who knows how many advances the three of us can make till then? Especially Misty."

The red-head snapped, "Excuse me but unlike you I actually have a goal. Don't involve me in stupid things, okay? Why don't you pick on May for a change?"

"Could I do it, instead?" A new voice appeared.

The foursome turned around and—

"GARY!" They screamed collectively.

"Why the hell were you eavesdropping on us," Misty demanded, cracking her fists.

Gary replied unfazed, "For starters, this is my house."

"What do you mean by 'Could I do it'," Iris asked to which Gary smiled. Ah, she catches on fast, was the kind of smile on Gary's face.

"I wanna pick May," he said. "For a date."

It took effort for May to not drop the glass. Did she hear it right? Gary asking her for a date? He looks cool and all but they barely knew each other.

"Precisely why I want to hang out with you," Gary said, obviously studying her mind. "We barely know each other, I am kinda bored with all the research work and training, I want to take a break."

"Uh," May's face was blank. This was completely out of the blue. No, this was the textbook definition of 'out of the blue'. He was handsome, she could tell that much, he had style which most men don't. He was born to be a ladies man, and _he_ was asking her out. It wouldn't be that wrong to—

"I'll pick you tomorrow morning," he smiled before getting back to the backyard.

May however stood still like a statue, as if she was a spectator in the entire conversation.

"I didn't think you would accept so easily," Dawn's eyes were still wide open thanks to the shock.

"But I didn't say anything!" May blurted out. She definitely didn't.

"With a face like that, do you really need to?" Misty asked, sarcastically.

Was her face that easy to read? Or was it Gary's magic. First Drew, now Gary why do men always have a way with her, why does she submit to them so easily?

"I give you a '-1' in the Ash race," Iris said, somewhat mad.

"Excuse me but none of us are interested in that kind of a race," Misty said, feigning anger.

"What about Dawn flirting Ash?" Iris asked.

"Of course I am interested in that," Misty replied immediately, and winked at a furious Dawn.

* * *

"It smells harem around here," Alex muttered.

"Ash and Harem don't match Mr. Ketchum," Brock whispered back. "It's like trying to use fighting type moves on ghost types."

An unusual combination of Brock, Cilan and Alex watched the girls coerce Dawn into something sane girls wouldn't openly do. The courage comes from the fact that Ash was a naïve idiot, and would probably figure out things only after it's too late.

"He got his naïveté from his mother," Alex sighed. It took her six years to figure out he loved her, what a mess that was.

* * *

Noon was already up and over, and so did the lunch break. The training was going pretty fine, except Pikachu was still resting, while the rest of the Pokémon trained together. I never saw all my Pokémon work this hard before, I am definitely going to catch up with Paul at this rate….or not.

The power difference between the two of us was fearsome. I hated it. How did he use Overgrow like that? It was cheating.

"Pikapi," Pikachu called his attention. The rodent pointed at the group training.

Much to my surprise, the Pokémon which were supposed to be training stopped amidst what they were doing.

I walked close to the scene to see what was going on, only to meet with a flaming ape Pokémon in a battle stance.

Facing it was Sceptile. Hmm, that was unusual. They were supposed to be training partners, so what's so special about them battling now.

Infernape was the first one to move. He leapt into the air, like only a naughty monkey ever could. The flames on its manes grew to engulf it in a blue aura.

"Flareblitz," I muttered. So they were having a serious battle instead of simply speed training?

Infernape which resembled a rocket dashed towards the still grass type. Normally any trainer would panic but I knew that guy.

Just as the flaming rocket strung the ground, Sceptile disappeared from my sight and appeared a few steps behind Infernape.

He liked to act cool.

Infernape obviously was annoyed by the development. He growled something at Sceptile.

Sceptile retorted with what seemed like a cool remark and lunged at Infernape with blinding speed.

'_Quick Attack' _I Sceptile was taking it serious too?

The bolt of lightning called Sceptile was closing on to Infernape at an alarming rate. There was no way Infernape could dodge that. Then what would he do?

Answering my question, Infernape let out a stream of flames from its mouth. The spreading heat was aimed straight at the advancing enemy. Sceptile was done for?

No, I clearly forgot how fast Sceptile was. As if to remind me, and ring the bell in my ears, performing an impossible maneuver, Sceptile changed its course.

The green blur shot past Infernape and—

Appeared right behind it! Infernape noticed the presence behind him, his dark eyes began to turn back to catch a glimpse of its enemy.

But Sceptile's attack was faster than Infernape's reaction. Before Infernape could even turn back, the leaves on its hands were growing a bright green. Leafblade.

But Infernape wasn't something one could take so lightly. Even if he lacked speed when compared to Sceptile, he had something else.

The Leafblade could only slash thin air, because Infernape performed a forward flip, and twisted his body in time to face Sceptile.

Infernape had an excellent battle intuition. Even if Sceptile was fast, if Infernape predicts Sceptile's moves it won't lose. I think the intuition came from the fact that it was a fighting type but it could also be that Infernape's life as a Chimchar back in the wild was a rough one.

Infernape let out a confident growl, and lunged at Sceptile once more, this time its fists glowing with a Mach Punch. Even Sceptile has to break a sweat to dodge that, or so I thought.

Sceptile didn't move at all. In fact it raised its arms into the air as if it gave up on the battle and was praying to a Pokémon god.

I began to exclaim, "What the hell are you—"

Except I was cut off when a huge shadow took my attention. I lifted my head into the air, to notice huge boulders above me, standing in the air as if there was something holding them up. The rocks were then dropped, letting gravity do the rest of the job.

The surprising move from Sceptile shocked Infernape. It had to stop its advance to dodge a rock that fell on its path, only to fall in the path of another boulder, and then another and so on.

The dodge was futile and in the end Infernape ended up buried underneath them.

"Whoa!"

All of us fell into deep shock. I never knew...

"You learned a new move today, huh? Your Rockslide was amazing!"

Sceptile smiled proudly, the twig in his mouth never leaving its place.

Training Sceptile against a powerful fire type like Infernape paid off. Rockslide was a good countermeasure against fire types, and not to mention it was completely out of Sceptile's usual hit and run battle style. It could really throw opponents off-guard. If there was any Pokémon that was already ready for the Champion's League, it's Sceptile.

"Naape!"

The grass before us broke, as a small hole was made. Infernape jumped out of the hole, with a sheepish expression on his face. He was looking at me embarrassed of the earlier developments.

"You were amazing too Infernape, dodging Sceptile's attacks is a great thing. I am proud of you!"

Infernape delighted by my praise, jumped in joy and pumped its energy filled fists into the air.

The remaining Pokémon looked equally surprised and excited by the unfolding of events. They turned to their respective partners and resumed their sparring with renewed determination.

"Everyone's all fired up, Pikachu," I nodded to my partner, "I will definitely win this league."

"Pika!" Pikachu's cheeks were filled with electricity. He gestured me something on the lines of 'I want to get back to training too!'

"Are you sure buddy?" I asked.

The rodent nodded with a definite yes. He was determined to not give up yet.

"But before we train we must figure out a new method to use that thunderbolt," I said. "I can't put your electric sacs out of order every time we battle."

He lowered his head in defeat. He accepted the gravity of the situation. We should think something else before we train. After seeing many electric Pokémon I can say this: My Pikachu has a lot of power inside him, and if even he could be exhausted by that move then it was not worth using.

"Ash," a warm voice greeted me.

Standing behind me was the ever optimistic smiling Dawn. Except there was a nervous smile on her face today.

"What's wrong, Dawn?" I asked.

She seemed to be taken aback by the question, because she looked surprised, as if she were hit by a thunderbolt.

"Nothing's wrong," but the nervousness in her face only grew. Her hand was on her chest, as if she was facing a life-threatening situation, or a powerful rival. "I am leaving today so I just wanted to talk with you a bit."

"Then why are you standing like you are scared of me or something. I wanted some break anyway."

I sat down on the patch of grass. Maybe she would feel more comfortably if we sat and talk. "So what do you want to talk about?" I asked her, indicating to sit beside me.

There was hesitation in her eyes. She took a gulp or two, and nervously looked at the place I pointed her to sit, as if she was measuring the distance between us.

Really. What was wrong with her? She never was this uncomfortable around me. Even in Unova she was perfectly fine.

"Dawn you are treating me as if I am a road side swindler. I am not going to steal your Pokémon or something," I said with a smile.

"Huh," she held her breath, "I-I am sorry," she hastily took the seat beside me.

Something was really really wrong with her. Why was she so fidgety? She was all right till yesterday.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked, casually.

"Nothing special, I just wanted to catch up with you," she said. "So how's your training going? I heard you are teaching Pikachu a new move."

"About that," I said with a disappointed tone. "I was trying to figure out how to use a double thunderbolt. But I can't seem to find a way."

* * *

"They make a nice couple don't they?" Delia smiled looking at them.

"Nah," Alex brushed her off. "My mom thought I and Natalia are a good couple, and we all know how that went."

"Your pessimistic thinking always leaves me in awe," she said, half-serious.

"That kid should learn to taste girls first," he said.

"If you have any such things in mind cut them off," she poked him. "It's a warning."

"We wouldn't have had Ash if I actually cared about your warnings," Alex said. "Besides, you babied him too much."

"I didn't," she was unusually offensive, "Unless you think hitting on girls is a sign of maturity."

"It isn't?"

"No."

"Eh, whatever," Alex shrugged, "But those girls are practically going gaga over him."

"Well, Ash is the only thing they have in common to talk about," Delia pointed out. "If May and Dawn were alone they talk about contests. I think Iris is the one spoiling them."

"Maybe she has a thing for our little guy," Alex smiled.

"Well, all four of them are pretty good," Delia said, "Dawn is my personal favorite though. She is a sweet girl, very kind and helpful."

"It could be a façade to please adults," Alex argued. "You fell right though it by the way."

"Alex, she's just thirteen."

"Few kids learn these things from childhood. I think she's a girl who tries to look strong, but is in fact weak inside. She only looks strong for the sake of others. Girls like these could grow into deceptive women."

"Wow," Delia looked at her husband in wonder. "Don't you think a bit too deep? Have you been reading those conspiracy theories on internet?"

"Nah. It's just that I have seen a big bad world," Alex smiled wryly, sorrow wallowing him up. Memories of things that happened one month ago haunted him. "Even the most seemingly innocent child can't be trusted sometimes."

"_We are banning you from the World Tournament, Mr. Alexander."_

Alex hid his clenched fists from Delia. "Let's see how our son will fare against that girl," he told her with a bright smile.

* * *

"So that is a double thunderbolt, huh," Dawn muttered. It took me some time to explain her but she finally caught onto it. Dawn always got inspirational ideas for her contests. Back in Sinnoh both of us helped each other in coming up with various combinations like Ice-aqua jet, counter shield.

"So what do you think?" I asked, as she thought on the subject, eyes closed and focused. Somehow I found myself staring at her face.

"I am not sure about this but," she said, her eyes still closed. "How about—" Her voice stopped when she opened her eyes, and looked straight into me.

The two of us remained silent. Our faces were too close; maybe she was uncomfortable with that. Dawn on the other hand moved closer to me, slowly. Her lips open as if she wanted to eat something tasty. Her breath was ragged, and warm.

"What's wrong, Dawn?" I asked putting a hand on her forehead. Does she have a fever?

"Huh," The blue haired snapped, and hurriedly crawled back. She looked around guiltily.

"Do you have a fever?" I asked.

Swiveling her head towards me, she denied hastily, "N-No, I am perfectly fine."

Now how do I put it? There was something weird about her today, and she was hiding it. "Dawn did you forget we are friends?" I asked somewhat serious.

The question changed the expression in her face abruptly. She looked at me with fear-filled eyes, as if she was a criminal interrogated by the police. As if I was threatening her seriously. "Ash, I-I am really sorry," tears were piling upon her blue eyes.

What did I do to scare her so much?

"I am sorry Ash, I didn't mean to do that to you," she said, forcing her eyelids shut.

"Do what?"

"T-The k-k-k…," she was unable to finish her sentence. "The K-word," she said, her eyes fell to the ground.

K-word? Kingler? Krabby? Krookodile? Damn, why does she have to be so mysterious?

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I don't get it all. We are friends right? You could tell me what your problem is."

A sudden realization seemed to sweep across her, because her tears stopped, and she looked at me with an awkward expression, "So that was what you meant by 'did you forget we are friends'?" She asked sourly.

"I asked, "Yeah, what else would I mean?" There was still some anxiety in her face, I could say that.

"Nothing," she smiled nervously, "How about going back to the main topic?"

"Okay?" I was unsure, but if she doesn't want to talk about it, I shouldn't bother her. "Any ideas?"

"I am not sure about it actually," she said. "Why don't you use two different thunderbolts and try to reduce the time gap between them?"

Well I had the same idea but…"It's still two thunderbolts not double thunderbolt," I pointed out.

She frowned for a second, placing her chin on her hand in a thinking pose, "It's just my hunch but I think if you practice enough you could actually use two thunderbolts with almost zero time difference. If you do that—"

"Then two thunderbolts will become a double thunderbolt!" I exclaimed. "You're awesome, Dawn. I should have thought about that too. What do you say, buddy?" I asked Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

* * *

Seeing the goofy-slash-excited Ash made Dawn lose all the previous discomfort in her heart. Seriously, what was she thinking? She scolded herself. She planned to flirt with Ash a bit. But not only did she manage to fail in doing so, she fell in for him instead.

This was the first time her thoughts actually went as deep as stealing a kiss from a boy. Oh gosh! She promised herself she would never ever get close to a guy than she was comfortable, not any time soon. But firstly she wanted to kill the other three girls to induce the stupid feelings into her. All the while she and Ash had this neat friendship thing going on. Now she could never talk to Ash the same way. Everything was ruined.

Nothing was all right!

"Dawn, are you okay?" A soft touch on her shoulders brought Dawn back to reality and noticed that Ash placed an arm on her.

NO!

"You are spacing out," he placed his hand on her forehead. "I think you have a fever—"

Those were the last words she heard because right after that everything went blank and fuzzy.

* * *

"Whoa," I caught the unconscious blunette just in time.

Just as I thought, she wasn't well. She was planning to travel with this health?

"Wow look at what you did."

To my surprise I found Misty, May and Iris before me. The voice belonged to Misty.

"She has a fever," I said. "I think we should postpone her journey till she gets well."

"I wonder," Misty seemed like she was hiding a grin, "Trust me on this one Ash, even if you ask her to stay she won't stay back. Not a second more than necessary."

"I know you are hopeless Ash," May sighed. Hey where did that come from? "But this is really pushing the word 'naïve' to the extreme limits."

"I told you he's a kid," Iris nodded, "See nothing happens no matter how hard we try."

"What should happen?" I asked. Because of none of this discussion made sense, and yet it was about me. "And I am not a little kid!"

"You are a little kid!" May and Misty echoed together.

Dammit, I hate when people mock me. But for god's sake could anyone tell me what was going on? Could this be a girls-only secret? Maybe they simply like to make fun of me.

"I think that's enough," a gruff voice cut any further conversation between us.

"Dad, it took you long enough from that lunch break," I said with sarcasm.

"For your sake Ash, I'll pretend the last few minutes didn't happen," he said with his ever existing disappointed-father expression. Even him? Something was going here, and I really want to know about it! "Let's focus on Bulbasaur for now," he said. "Delia, take care of Dawn," he said to mom who was hidden behind his immense frame.

"Fine," I said putting away everything else out of my mind.

"Mr. Ketchum is it okay if we watch Ash training?" Misty asked.

"Oh sure, you girls would peep from the bushes anyway," Dad brushed her off casually. But it seems she seethed at his comment. Dad's a pro at making people hate him.

"Bulbasaur!" I called the bulb Pokémon who was busy trying to hit Swellow with a leech seed. He immediately hopped his way towards us, delighted that he was being given the spotlight.

The Swallow Pokémon followed him, and cawed for my attention. "Take a break for a while Swellow," I gave him a thumbs-up.

"I want to study Bulbasaur's style a bit Ash. I think it could use some tweaking," Dad said.

* * *

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"

May watched the fierce exchange of moves between Bulbasaur and Pikachu. With unbelievable agility, Pikachu ducked between the vines and leapt into the sky.

"Leech Seed," Ash commanded.

"Use thunderbolt to counter it," Alex commanded.

The brown seed that popped out of Bulbasaur's back was shot at the airborne rodent, but a quick thunderbolt averted the attack from finding its way towards Pikachu.

"Bulba!" The Pokémon was surprised and angry at the sudden move.

"That's a cool way to counter Leech seed," Ash exclaimed. It was his Pikachu after all.

"On the other hand it proves how straight forward Bulbasaur's attack was," Alex said coldly. He was really good at making the cocky Ash's smile drain away.

Alex said after a pause, "Bulbasaur has excellent aim, but I think straight forward attacks won't be doing you any good."

Ash's lips pursed. "I see," he said with a serious expression.

"If you had battled enough with Bulbasaur you could have developed its battle style a bit more."

It was clearly an insult to Ash a trainer. But instead of getting all flustered up, he took them silently. He was accepting them. He was guilty.

Accepting your mistakes was a part of growth too. May thought for a second. She had flaws too, and there was a good reason why she lost to Zoey in the Wallace cup. She should start working on them instead of blaming things on everything else.

"That's it for today, Ash," Mr. Ketchum said to him, abruptly ending the two hour session.

"But it isn't evening yet," Ash said. "There's a lot of time."

"I want to teach you about special abilities a bit," Alex said. "And how to use them intelligently in a battle."

"Really?" Ash was excited. "Can you tell me how to use Overgrow like Paul did?"

* * *

"Not exactly, but it's worthwhile." Dad cheered. "There are many amazing stuff you don't know about. But the people at Rosenburg hunt for this knowledge, and then this knowledge passed down through generations. I learnt it from my teacher Mao, and I will teach it to you. Speaking of which there's something else I want to teach you."

Wow, and there's more?

"Tomorrow the two of us will be going to the mountains in the north. I have a technique that my teacher taught me. I couldn't grasp it, but I think it matches your battle style pretty well."

Whoa! So there was something dad couldn't learn properly and only I can? I could feel it. Yes, I am getting stronger by the second. Whatever this technique was, I am going to learn it!

"Keep up the enthusiasm, Ash," Dad commended, "Once you perfect it, I think you will be far better a trainer than me, and it's not pretty hard to learn either. I am looking forward for tomorrow," he grinned.

"Me too," I said.

"Ash, it's about time we send Dawn off," Brock said taking the opportunity to speak up. "Let's go."

I nodded and followed the group that proceeded to my house.

* * *

"Are you really well? Ash asked her for the umpteenth time. He was so caring, if only he wasn't so naïve.

"I am perfectly alright," she gave her best 'everything will be alright' smile.

"We are going to miss you Dawn," Delia clasped her arms, "Give my regards to your mother."

"We'll miss you too," Misty approached and hugged her. The expression on her emerald eyes was real. Despite the mischievous things they did, they were really good friends. The three days were eventful and went on quickly.

"Me too," Dawn said.

"Well it's time to go," Gary called her. He was driving her to Viridian. "The ship's not going to wait for you, Princess."

"Alright then," she smiled. "Bye everyone. Good luck for your training. Remember everything will be all right!"

Seconds later, the car whirred into life, and she found herself waving to her friends a final parting goodbye. They won't see each other for one year because everyone will soon be focused into the training. The thought that she would be all one in Twinleaf throbbed her heart. Within just two days she fell in love with Pallet.

"Dawn," Ash shouted as the car began to move. "If you meet Paul tell him that I am getting stronger. I will definitely win the next time."

"Sure," she smiled. She had to tell Barry about it first. If he finds out how strong Paul has become, he will turn bonkers. "Bye-bye, Ash."

The car moved, and Ash grew distant once more. They were going apart one more time. This time for one year.

"I'll miss all of you," she muttered. "And you."

**~*~Chapter Fin~*~**

**Authorial rambling: **This was a dull chapter comparatively. I tried to add some Pearlshipping instead. Ah, don't worry; this chapter was only to set up the future chapters. Alex has a ton of things he wants to teach, and the next one will be his first official lesson. Apart from that he will be teaching how to use a Pokémon's special ability.

There was a reviewer who questioned why Tauros didn't had Giga Impact or Hyperbeam. Dear friend, I staunchly believe Giga Impact and Hyperbeam are terrible moves. Unlike the anime writers I don't want to conveniently ignore the charging period whenever I want. Tauros is an offensive Pokémon and can't afford leaving an opening for the opponents to freely attack. If there is any Pokémon in Ash's team that deserves Giga Impact, it's only Gliscor and you all know why.

For the next chapter, look forward to meet an old character from the anime.

Next Chapter, tentative title: Training at Mount Iwark! Gible versus Sandslash.


	5. A new battle style? Nah!

**It's been a while, people. I had exams and stuff, so yeah, I am back with a new chapter.**

**Firstly adressing a particular review: Guest:** No I am definitely not being hypocritical. There is an explanation in the near future chapters on how special abilities can be manipulated to use them effectively in battle. But the charging period for Hyperbeam is a _must,_ you are using a very powerful move and in exchange you leave yourselves vulnerable to your opponents. There is no easy way around it. Torterra has Frenzy Plant because it could afford getting hit. The same cannot be said for Tauros.

**~*~5. A new battle style? Nah!~*~ **

**October 3**

**Countdown** 363:17:00:12

The gentle mountainside was wind wasn't harsh, it wasn't cold, and it was pleasant. The fresh air in lungs was always welcome. I stretched my muscles one more time, removing any hint of laziness. The two—no, three of us were already quite a good distance away from Pallet Town.

"So dad, why are you taking me to this place?" I asked the man beside me. He was a feet above me, much to my annoyance, but he had a pleasant look on his face, which means he wasn't in his usual snide mood now.

"I'm going to teach you a whole new battle style," he said.

"A whole new battle style!" I was baffled, excited and somewhat skeptical at the same time.

He chuckled, perhaps at my childish joy. "It's going to improve your own battle style. It's actually something you regularly do anyway." He ran his fingers through his long hair, "But first, you should know what these mountains are famous for."

I should have told him earlier. I have already visited this place while training for the Indigo League. "I know, this place is known for giant Onix, and this is where Bruno trains. Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Pika," my buddy cooed in agreement.

He was visibly surprised, "Those were the two things I wanted you to tell about. You beat me to it kid."

"Are we going to meet Bruno?" I asked eagerly.

Dad shook his head, "Bruno's in Rosenburg," his face brightened up when he said the last word.

He loved that place, more so than my mom.

My eyes fell on the hut downhill. "Let's rest there, there's an old woman I know from last time," my voice was somewhat cold. It was jealousy perhaps, that he valued his goal more than me and mom. And yet what had compelled him to come back just before the tournament?

I walked to the hut and pulled the sliding old fashioned door, "Hey anybody here?" I was met with silence and a completely empty room. The old woman must have vacated this place.

"Nobody can live for more than two months in a place like this. The Onix here are too dangerous." Behind me dad set down his back pack and pulled out a box. "Let's eat kiddo," he settled down on a rock nearby.

"Fine," I said taking a seat opposite to him. Two hours of walk in the cold morning made me hungry. Nothing could be better than a homemade breakfast.

"Mm," dad relished his food, with his eyes closed, "I really missed her cooking. All we got in Rosenburg was the cheap food from Elli's. Mao never allowed us to spend more than necessary on food."

"Mao…" I heard the name more than once, "Tell me more about him."

"He was an awesome trainer. He comes from China where Pokémon training isn't that famous. He mixed martial art techniques with Pokémon battles. Every second I spent with him was worth it," his face was filled with pride and joy.

"I see," I wanted to honestly share the joy with him but I was feeling down for some reason. Something in my heart was plunging me since the day he came back. It was just one question.

"Why did you leave us dad?" The words came out of my mouth involuntarily. I cursed myself to ask that aloud. The question might be hurting me from the inside, but the smile on mom's face…I hate this! I loved my dad, he's so cool! He was amazing, he coaches me well, and I realized he was only being harsh with me for the sake of being harsh. Everything was going well between us but this feeling that I was left behind, it hurt me. It hurt me more that my mom simply forgave him, like the ten years of silent anguish she felt was nothing at all. She was naïve; she could be left behind again.

The man was surprised by my question, "What's with you all of a sudden?"

"Uh, nothing," I hid my eyes from his gaze, and looked at the distant trail of rocks that formed the mountain. "Forget it."

"It's fine," he mumbled, "If you hate me then say it aloud."

"No, I—," I paused. Yeah, what was it then? I must really hate him. Damn, why was it so hard to admit?

He spoke, "The connection between us is that of a teacher and a student. You didn't accept me as a father, as far as I remember. You never said you loved me or something. I don't expect you to do that anytime soon, or perhaps never. I deserve that because I abandoned you."

"So you knew all along that I hate you?" I asked. It was hilarious because I thought I put the past behind me. So, I was hiding from my feelings to support mom? Then I am worse than her. She ignores the pain because she loves him too much, and I ignore my pain because I don't like to hurt their relationship. I never knew I was capable of something complex. I was doing it without my knowledge. "Then answer me, why did you abandon us?"

"Ash you of all should understand me," he said.

Understand what? It's true that I badly want to become a Pokémon Master but would I—

My thoughts were interrupted by him, "I didn't have any choice, I was already five years behind my schedule. I couldn't even qualify to the Champion League when I was supposed to win it."

"What?" I gasped.

The calm and composed Alex Ketchum no longer existed. I saw the other side of dad, the frustrated side that is. The frustration of not being able to win. The same I felt when Charizard refused to listen to my command against Ritchie. It was my most painful loss.

He sprang up from his seat, "I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't do the same mistake again; I had to win this time. That was when I decided to leave you people. I had no choice. Being a father and a husband was holding me back."

Anger shook me up. My fists tightened, "Then why did you marry in the first place."

"Why?" He snapped, "Because I loved her!"

It doesn't make sense, not even a bit. "You could have hold off the marriage till you won the league. You were only eighteen!" It was something my mom told.

The furious man calmed down at once, as if he were defeated by my question. He sat back and took in a deep breath. "Circumstances, Ash. I was forced to marry her."

"What kind of circumstances?" I asked, still serious. I refused to go down; I didn't want to pity him.

"You won't understand. Forget it, Ash. You won't get more out of me. Shall we forget this and continue our training?"

His words were final. Yeah, I won't get any more out of him. Well, there's always tomorrow.

"Fine. But before that I have a few questions about Multiple Thunderbolt." Our conversation causally drifted off from serious to a more formal and easy topic.

* * *

"So how's Ash? Is he any better than in the Sinnoh League?" Words spat out of Barry's mouth faster than a bullet. He was prancing eagerly, waiting for Dawn's reply.

The blunette sighed, "So that's the first question you ask. Nothing like 'Hey Dawn, how have you been' sort of questions?"

"Hey Dawn, how have you been?"

"Not you Kenny," she replied sourly, "I know you would say that a million times if I ask you to."

The plump boy blushed, "What do you mean by that Ms. Diamond Dandruff?" He attacked her instead.

"Ah stop squawking the two of you, I want more important stuff," Barry pushed himself between the two.

"You should start giving me more respect first," she put a demanding expression, placing her hand on her hips. "You could start with some courtesy first."

"I'm going to fine you for this!" The blonde was mad for a second and then politely bowed down to the girl, "Please, Dawn tell me how Ash's training is going on?"

The girl simply giggled at his expression and said, "He said he'll become strong."

* * *

"It's still two thunderbolts, not a double thunderbolt," Dad said as we walked down.

"All that secret training last night was a waste, huh?" The news was disheartening. Both I and my buddy had to put extra effort for that actually. "But we were close, right?"

"Yep, that girl's idea s working," he nodded. "Now for what I actually wanted to show you—" Dad pointed at the large trail of mud. "We need to spot a giant Onix first," he said.

"Leave it to us," I gave him a thumb up. "Swellow!"

The Pokéball exploded, forming a swallow Pokémon in the midst of the sky.

"Swellow, I want you to search for this giiiant Onix!" The Pokémon nodded and followed the trail. He was a smart guy.

* * *

"It's really huge," and I could say that every time I see it. The giant Onix was standing before us, and it was definitely not happy seeing us. I couldn't possibly know the reason why this particular Onix was so mad. Onix despite its appearance were docile Pokémon, and not territorial unless they want to protect something valuable or you endangered them with water Pokémon.

"When an Onix is mad there are two possibilities," Dad said, "Either something's struck inside it or it had a heart break. Anyway it will be useful for your training kid. Are you ready for my demonstration?"

"Of course," I nodded. This new battle style thing, I wonder what it is. A secret trick? Or a powerful new move?

"Pikachu," Dad commanded my buddy. "Hop your little A over here."

The rodent looked at me somewhat irritated by his bossy attitude. Sorry buddy he's my trainer, and I am yours. Things work the wrong way sometimes. "You can compensate it with a thunderbolt later," I whispered so that my dad couldn't hear.

He did as directed and stood before the Onix. He freaked out against Brock's Onix when we began our journey and look at him now. I guess we have come a long way after all.

"Now Ash and Pikachu carefully look at what Onix is basing its entire body on," he pointed at the rock that supported Onix's upper part. "This weakness applies to any Onix and Steelix. Being composed of many individual parts, you might not notice it but the rock that supports Onix's weight is larger than the rest of the rocks." It was true, Onix supported most of its weight on one particular part. Despite seeing a lot of Onix, this fact never crossed me.

After giving us a second to digest the fact he spoke, "Pikachu use a full powered Iron Tail on that rock."

"Pika?" Pikachu looked at him confused.

Dad insisted, "You heard it right; hit it on that particular spot. Avoid hitting anything else."

"Do it, buddy," I believed in my dad and so should you. The rodent nodded.

The Onix noticing that its opponent prepared to strike it, loomed its enormous expanse to the ground, ready to confront Pikachu with any head on attack. Pikachu charged first, sprinting on his four legs. As he went closer to the giant Onix, the Pokémon let out a roar, ready to take on any attack Pikachu was about to throw.

Replying to his roar Pikachu jumped in midst of his sprint. His tail stiffened with a bright light. Onix lurched forward to bite him, but with the grace of a ballerina, Pikachu spun about itself as it let out its own battle cry.

With one large sweep, that could make any swordsman envious; the iron tail flowed past the particular rock it was aimed at. The rodent landed on the ground with the same grace as it performed the attack.

Everything was still for a second. It was beautiful. I never noticed it because I was always in the tense mood of a battle, but I never thought Pikachu's Iron Tail would look so beautiful. Heck, I could give May and Dawn a run for their money if I ever wanted to get into contests. But—no, it wasn't that kind of a beautiful thing. It was more like a guy's kind of beautiful thing. Gah, you catch my drift?

"The correct word is elegant," Dad said as if he read my mind.

The Onix turned back, wondering what hit it. It noticed Pikachu standing beside its tail. In a jet of rage it turned around and prepared to charge at Pikachu.

"Pikachu watch—!"

There was no need to worry. Yeah, if anything I should worry about the Onix. Because the mighty serpent that prepared to attack Pikachu couldn't even move an inch before collapsing like a stack of play cards.

"How the heck did that happen?" I asked, puzzled. My previous knowledge told me it took more than one Iron Tail to finish Onix. Even two or three won't be enough, let alone one.

"Pikachu hit its weakest spot and rendered it immobile," Dad explained. "Is that so hard to understand?"

I defended myself, "I know that already. It was just a rhetoric question."

"_This _is the battle style I talked about," he said proudly. "Find the weakness of your opponent and chop him off."

Huh, wait? I think I know something like this already. "I know it already. There's nothing new about it."

"I have expected that too. But I bet you never tried it on a regular basis did you? Besides I will tell you few tips to observe only useful things."

That was correct. I only used it in desperate times. "Hmm, I guess you are right."

"I am always correct, Ash," he grinned. "This is the trick that Mao taught both me and Bruno. You must remember one thing though. Don't depend on it. Most of the times you won't find a weakness in a trained Pokémon. Even if you do, they would have something to cover the weakness. But if you see that your opponent is unaware of it, then use the chance. It's a fool proof strategy, trust me. You may not be completely defeat the opponent, but you could cripple it at least. All you need is to continuously critique your opponent Pokémon's physique."

Wait, so Bruno knows this trick too? But when I asked him if he had any trick up his sleeve five years ago. All he said was the Pokémon and friendship crap that everyone says. No wonder he could find out what exactly was Onix's problem. Heh, he's scared that I might beat him some day with his own strategy.

"So critique my opponent Pokémon's physique?" I repeated what he said.

"Yes. One thing you must notice is if your opponent's Pokémon has a glaring weakness then he'll be on guard about it the whole time. So if you study its body movements, you could find what it keeps protecting, and then when you get the opportunity—"

"You knock them off!" I punched into the air. "I get it!"

"It's easier said than done," Dad held my raised fists. "Let's see if there is any wild berserk Pokémon or a random trainer hiding in the mountain, what do you say?"

"Sure!"

"Good, this battle suits you because of your observation capacity." he smiled with satisfaction. "First we heal the Onix though." He pointed at the whimpering Pokémon.

He said as he unpacked a Super Potion and sprayed at the Pokémon's bruised boulder, "I tried learning Mao's battle style for years and couldn't do it. The only thing I knew was this weakness Onix has, Ash. That's why I brought you here. This is a battle style only those with truly gifted observation capacity can learn."

"Do you think I have them?" I asked.

"If there are any good points about you as a trainer, it's that," he smiled. The Pokémon's whimpering's seized. Instead a soft growl took its place. The giant Onix lifted its head to look at me and Dad. The Pokémon looked somewhat surprised, but understood we weren't its enemies. It simply lay down as he gently brushed its rock. "Ash, every Pokémon has its own unique weakness, even among the same species. There is no secret strategy to beat all the Pokémon, you must learn to observe correctly, and that comes with natural talent and a bit of practice."

* * *

"I thank you for taking up my offer," the gracious looking young man said as he sat down on the other side of the table.

Okay, she might be overrating his looks, but he did spend a good amount of money on this. May could tell it by simply looking at the menu.

"It's nothing," she tried to be just as gracious and humble.

'_Ack, did that come out right?'_

No, she shouldn't look nervous. The date was a casual one. Something Gary did to spend his time after cooping himself in research for two and a half years. He did say that directly. But still it was a date. And there were no casual dates, only serious ones.

May wondered for a second how her brain worked. It began with a statement and by the end of the train of thought she ended up contradicting it.

They were in Viridian City's most expensive restaurant: The J&J restaurant. For a second she thought it was Jessie and James, but Gary said he did a background check on that, and the couple of good for nothing criminals had nothing to do with the restaurant.

"So May what will you be taking?"

She heard something of that sort. May's fuzzy brain came to focus, and she saw a waiter standing at their table, with a notepad in his hand.

"Oh," she turned to Gary and asked, "What about you?"

* * *

"Why do I get to be the girl and you the guy?" Iris was mad, but she kept her voice low. They were in Viridian's J&J restaurant after all.

"With that long hair of yours, you don't expect me to be the girl," Misty said derisively, as either of them hid their faces behind a menu card.

Misty was wearing a rental blue jacket, over faded blue jeans. Her emerald eyes were hid behind the dark shades. Her red hair was let loose, and draped over her shoulders. To an untrained eye she was a red haired guy with an overgrown hair. Something like that wasn't odd in the twenty-first century.

But what was odd was the other girl, Iris.

"Why the heck am I wearing Asian clothing?" She asked Misty for the umpteenth time.

"Gosh, will you stop complaining? How are we supposed to hide your damn hair otherwise?" Iris's hair, much to her annoyance was combed and tied into a single knot at the bottom. Her dress, which was a traditional robe from somewhere in South Asia, completely covered her hair. Unfortunately that was the only realistic disguise one could come up with a stubborn girl who refused to cut her hair.

Iris hushed as soon as she saw the waiter approaching.

"Your order, sir?" He sent a courteous glance to Misty, and an awkward one at Iris.

"This is my wife's first visit to Kanto," Misty's voice was more like a teenage boy though. The waiter decided to ignore the impossibilities as it was not his place and simply listened. "Do you have any Kanto specialties?"

Iris rolled her eyes. She knew what Misty was trying. She was constantly rubbing it on her face that Iris was the 'wife' and Misty was the 'husband'. Poor little girl doesn't probably know wives have more power over husbands.

The waiter's eyes brightened up, "Sir, we do have an excellent course just for you."

* * *

It has been two hours since we began searching for a berserk Pokémon. It was dad's motto not to attack a Pokémon unless it attacked us first. I actually liked that, but it's getting annoying now. There aren't any trainers here, not even a soul. We checked in through the last three tunnels that could have been made my some Onix or Bruno and found nothing but Rattata.

We finally reached a dead end, a small valley between two of the hills. We could climb and check the top, but it's highly unlikely that someone would be up there.

"Let's go back," Dad said dejected. "The mountains aren't just that lively anymore. This place used to be a hub for rough trainers."

The two of us turned around and decided to head back.

"Pi," Pikachu's grip on my shoulders tightened. His ears were wobbling, he must have heard something.

"Dad," I warned him. Noticing the seriousness in my voice he stopped and looked around cautiously.

The ground around us began to vibrate. It was as if we were standing on a platform and it was about to collapse underneath us.

'_An earthquake?'_

"Pikapi!"

Pikachu screamed a warning into my ears. My instinct made me turn around, only to notice the approaching danger.

Hidden in the ground, something plowed its way towards us, like a shark in the deep sea. In a reflexive action I threw myself away from the path of the approaching danger.

Having missed me, whatever it was turned around and headed towards me again. The hidden creature tunneled past me, drawing a line. Then it appeared on our right, and dug out another line.

"It's trying to trap us inside, try stopping it." Dad said.

I was having the same idea too. I actually have a perfect Pokémon for the occasion. This was definitely the best time for taking out the land shark.

"Gible, I choose you!"

Well it was a mini-land shark. It was still a tiny Gible after all. Gible opened its mouth and stared at me, clueless. He was a bit slow on the intake.

"Gible, use Dig and lure the Pokémon out!"

Its mouth still wide open, Gible nodded—no, shook its entire body would deem more appropriate. Gible dove into the ground, like an ace swimmer into the arena and dug its way towards the hostile creature.

The two lines of dirt met and in an explosion of sand and dust, a shadow rose up from underneath and landed far away from us.

Having successfully completed its job, Gible dug its way towards and peeped out from the ground. He moved his jaws and made a sound which could have translated into 'Job done'. I wasn't sure.

"Good job, buddy!" I appreciated his work anyway.

My attention shifted to the silhouette beyond the dust that slowly settled down. It was small, a bit larger than Pikachu but not more. I had a good idea of what it was but waited till the dust completely cleared away, revealing the Pokémon and confirming my doubt.

"Sandslash," I muttered its name. "Looks like we have got a wild Pokémon to test our new battle style!"

"It's not a wild Pokémon," Dad said. He looked around with a suspicious glint in his eyes, "Wild Sandslash don't grow this much."

I didn't realize that the Pokémon was much larger than any Sandslash I have seen before. Even the spikes on its body were suspiciously large and looked pretty sharp.

"Slash," the Pokémon growled, snapping its claws like scissors.

"You haven't changed much have you, Ash Ketchum?"

The voice startled me. I didn't recognize it, but the tone felt somewhat familiar. I looked upon the cliff to see who the owner of the voice was.

The bright afternoon sunshine blinded my vision, but with extreme difficulty I did notice a sturdy personality standing on the distant cliff.

Was it Bruno? The person was too short for that. He carried something in his hand, something like a rope. No, it was a whip.

Wait! Could it be?

"A.J?" I asked, somewhat doubtful.

"Am glad that you remember me," with a grunt he jumped from the seven foot height and dropped right before us. "Very few remember me these days."

How could I forget him? The guy with one hundred consecutive wins. The guy who promised to meet me at the Indigo League and failed to do so—

"You know, you broke your promise," I said.

The guy with spiky black hair playfully swung the whip, "I couldn't make it to the League, Ash."

"You couldn't?" I was slightly surprised. How could a guy talented and hard-working like him not make it to the league?

"The past is past," he said, "I have been training in various mountains in Kanto since that day. Once I'm done with here I'll go to Mt. Silver. What about you, Ash?"

"My dad's training me for the Pokémon World Tournament," I replied. I turned to my dad, "Dad, meet A.J, a friend from long time ago."

Dad and A.J exchanged a complementary glance. A.J shifted his attention to me, "Hey Ash, what kind of a Pokémon is that?" He pointed his finger at Gible.

"Huh," I was mildly surprised. Perhaps Gible were much rare than I thought. "It's a Gible, from Sinnoh Region."

"Wow," there was surprise on his face, "You have travelled that far?"

"What do you mean?" I chuckled, "Sinnoh's nothing compared to Unova. You actually need a plane to get to Unova."

"Excuse me but," Dad interrupted, "A.J you have never travelled these regions?"

"Nah," A.J twirled his whip, "I was training my Pokémon in Kanto itself. Don't you see how strong my Sandslash is?"

"It's pretty strong," Dad agreed, "Ash this is your best opportunity."

I understood what he meant. Finding a trainer in this mountain was impossible, I can't just let this opportunity pass.

"Challenge his Sandslash with your Gible," Dad ordered. "I'll referee."

Why the heck was he deciding what Pokémon I should be using? For some reason I decided to follow him though.

"Fine with me, Ash," A.J said. "Let's battle."

* * *

"How much more will she eat?" Iris moaned. "I really feel sorry for Gary's wallet."

"Well she's using the opportunity," Misty said. The two girls in disguise have finished their course a long time ago, and have ordered three courses of desserts already, and yet May didn't seem like she was about to budge yet. Gary, who was sitting with her, was putting a troubled expression, but he obviously didn't have the stomach to stop her. No man could ever do that on a date.

"I was expecting a lot of spicy stuff," Iris complained. "Like in the movies. All I am seeing is May hoarding the food."

"Well, after this date I think Gary will choose cheaper restaurants," Misty said.

From somewhere far away, a set of red-eyes watched the two girls. The two red-eyes that were like a painting on the wall then disappeared with a snicker. "Gengar gar gar."

* * *

The battle was set. The battle field was set between the two cliffs. A.J was standing before me, his trusty buddy Sandslash on his side. I was actually somewhat worried about the choice of Pokémon. Sandslash was A.J's number one partner. Using a grass type would give me a better chance, or I could at least use a Pokémon that I trained well. Gible didn't have much of battle experience. But he did have a secret move up his sleeve, something that covered up his inexperience.

"Ready, Gible?" I asked. I shouldn't have any doubts on my Pokémon. That wasn't how Ash Ketchum operated.

"We'll finish this pretty fast," A.J scoffed. Well it's true that Gible doesn't give you much of an impression but still, underestimating us would be fatal to him.

Dad announced, "Let the battle begin!"

Alright, the time's come. Time to test my new battle style.

Sandslash stood right before us. So what's a Sandslash's weakness?

Sandslash's upper part is made up of tough spikes, attacking that part wouldn't do much damage. A.J gave it a harsh training all these years, but based on what I saw, he trained it so that its spikes are super strong. Not to mention, its roll out attack would be too powerful thanks to all that special training in these mountains. This place wasn't called the home of powerful ground types for nothing. The land was fertile, which makes the Pokémon grow extra tough.

So that means the part not covered by its spikes would be its weakness. So that's what we should aim for.

"Gible," My objective is clear; the path for victory was in front of me. So I'll just have to blast through. Nothing would be better than a "Dragon Pulse!"

Widening its enormous jaws, Gible concentrated its Dragon type energy into a green sphere.

"Dragon what?" A.J seemed to panic. He hardly knows anything about Gible, this match's unfair.

Gible shot the ball of energy at Sandslash; the attack was powerful enough to throw the Pokémon back in recoil. He's small but his attacks pack a lot of punch than what _his_ body could take.

"Sandslash, guard yourself!" A.J commanded.

The mouse Pokémon curled itself into a ball as the sphere approached. The green ball of energy shot like a canon, the momentum of the attack was powerful enough to raise the dust along the path it moved.

The attack landed on the brown exterior with an explosion, throwing away the mouse.

I looked at the curled Sandslash with glee. The attack would have done pretty good damage. Man, I should train this little guy a bit more.

That's what I thought for that instant but when the mouse Pokémon uncurled itself, what I saw made me take back most of what I thought. There wasn't even a single scratch.

"It's tough," I muttered. What else should I expect? He's A.J's top Pokémon.

So much for my hit the weak spot strategy. Defending its inner part was a piece of cake for Sandslash. Like dad said, not all Pokémon have obvious weaknesses. I should keep my eyes open though.

"It's my turn, Ash." A.J stretched his whip and glared.

Bring it on. I glared back.

"Roll Out!"

The mouse Pokémon curled itself before, this time it began to roll like football. Except this one kicks you back.

"Gible, Dig!"

The tiny dragon didn't hesitate to go below the ground level. Dig was the best countermeasure.

Having lost a target to strike, the rolling football stopped. Sandslash was in a pinch, Gible could hit from any direction. That's the beauty of dig. The move's pretty obvious and straight-forward and yet hard to counterattack. I wonder if A.J had something up his sleeve.

"Sandslash you know the drill!" He yelled at the mouse, which nodded.

Fine he does have something for dealing with dig. Then I guess we will have to go for the move.

"Gible now!"

Not a second after my command, Sandslash's ears twitched, it must have sensed Gible.

The ground before Sandslash split, as a tiny Pokémon emerged ready to smash Sandslash. Except there wasn't a target for Gible to hit.

"What the!"

Sandslash was in the air before Gible could even land a hit.

"Rollout!"

The airborne Sandslash turned into a ball again. With intense momentum powered by gravity, the attack landed straight on Gible's face.

The Pokémon crashed onto the ground, and bounced like a ball before trying to stand on its two legs.

My attention shifted to Sandslash. As I expected, he was ready for another round of Rollout, this time powered up.

Gible was in no position to dodge that. Sandslash approached Gible at a dangerous speed, ready to mow down the Pokémon once more.

"Counter it," it was my only option, "Rock Smash!"

Gible concentrated a fist with its tiny arms, and threw a punch at the approaching ball. The punch had hardly any impact, nor did it do anything to slow down the power-upped Rollout. Gible was pushed away with relative ease; the attack dragged it down to the ground, and slid against the rough surface.

The damage was not much, but with Rollout it wasn't the damage that worries you, but the Pokémon's increasing momentum.

Gible struggled to its feet a lot quicker than last time.

Sandslash returned for more, this time with more power.

"Dodge!"

Gible threw itself to the left, barely saving itself from the attack. The pattern repeated once more. Sandslash reached the other end and turned back once more, to come back with even more momentum.

I can't keep dodging, No, dodging would make it worse.

Sandslash began the attack once more. With improved speed and power, it came back for Gible once more.

"Gible use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"

That's right; we still have an option left. If the opponent was getting the upper hand then you should just remove it.

No soon as I commanded so, A.J who seemed to catch my drift commanded, "Jump!"

Impossible, it can't jump in midst of a Rollout!

Gible fired its Dragon Pulse at the ground, disintegrating the relatively plain surface with a small dent enough to put out Sandslash's momentum.

Sandslash simply jumped above the obstacle that could have put in a fix. Then in that case—

"Rock Smash!"

Gible prepared itself from the Rollout coming from the air and struck the rotating ball straight on. If Sandslash jumped to dodge the depression in the ground, its speed would drastically fall or so I thought.

Without losing even a bit of its momentum, Sandslash once again bowled Gible out with ease.

"Dammit," I stomped the ground.

"We trained for two years on the mountains for two years, Ash," A.J rubbed his nose, and pointed his whip at me, "Do you think a small bump would defeat me?"

Sandslash's momentum kept on increasing. I could dodge one or two, but after that? Soon Rollout would be strong enough to finish Gible off.

This sucks. Dragon Pulse and Rock Smash won't work.

"Gible, Dig!"

It was my only chance.

A.J cried, "Attack!"

Before Gible could hardly make a crack to jump in, the bulldozer called Sandslash hit Gible once more, tossing it away like thrash and moved on to strike it.

"Jump and use Dig!"

Gible jumped over the attack this time and dove into the ground. Jumping from that height would give it enough power to get underground without any effort.

But my calculations were wrong once more. Gible as it approached the ground was knocked off balance by a super-fast Rollout.

"Gible!"

The little dragon fell limp on the ground. The damage done was small, but even the small damage would slowly pile up to do bigger damages.

Dig, Dragon Pulse and Rock Smash won't work. And I can't exactly use Draco Meteor against a target like Sandslash, not when it's this fast.

The Rollout came in once more, this time Gible barely dodged it, as I didn't send it any command.

Good Job, Gible. But it won't work again. I should figure out something.

Another strike. "Keep Dodging!" I yelled at my Pokémon. It was impossible but he could try dodging while I figure out something.

I should study Sandslash. Rollout had to have some weakness. Why wasn't our Rock Smash or Dragon Pulse working?

It's momentum.

Yes, it was Sandslash's momentum that kept Gible's attacks from doing it. But instead of attacking in the horizontal direction, if I attack from up or down then it could do some damage.

That's right, if I attack from the right direction, it wouldn't matter how much momentum Sandslash has.

It's just like deflecting a football. It's easier to hit from the perpendicular side than facing it straight on. Not that something like that would be possible in a real match.

But it's easier said than done. Well I'll just give it a try.

* * *

What was the boy thinking?

Alex was worried. Gible was hardly dodging those attacks. Most of them were almost direct hits, and did a good number on Gible. About six of them must have hit by now. If Gible didn't had a type advantage against Rollout it could have been seriously damaged by now.

Was Ash trying the new battle style? It could be. His eyes were fixated on Sandslash.

There was a change in the boy's attitude. He seems to have an idea. It wasn't a confident smirk, so he was having his doubts. But whatever it was he would try to use it.

So what was it?

The Rollout was nearly impossible to stop now. It approached Gible once more with blinding speed.

"Gible use Dragon Pulse on the ground!"

It was this again? Didn't it fail the last time?

Gible willingly obeyed its trainer and shot the green or of energy at the ground once more.

"You are desperate," A.J scoffed.

The mouse Pokémon, needless of its master's command jumped just as the Pulse struck the ground and found itself in the air.

The glint in Ash's eyes grew brighter. Things were going just as expected.

Ash exclaimed, "Now, jump and use Rock Smash straight on top of Sandslash!"

The superfast rollout struck the ground as Gible jumped. It wasn't fast enough to dodge the Rollout completely the attack approached Gible before it could complete the jump, but—

Gible has already prepared its right fist for a Rock Smash and struck the ball called Sandslash just as it made contact with Gible.

Alex couldn't comprehend what happened next. The ground beneath Sandslash cracked as if a heavy weight landed on it. Gible was pushed away by Rollout' impact. But instead of moving further, Sandslash's rotation stopped.

Alex remained speechless for a second. What just happened? The bewilderment in his face was shared by A.J, but in Ash's face it was happiness.

"You are awesome, Gible!" Ash jumped, as the dragon took back to its feet. With opened jaws, it simply watched what happened in awe too.

Alex realized what happened. When Sandslash was about to hit Gible, the landshark was in the air, and used a Rock smash straight on top of Sandslash. The attack may not have any impact on Sandslash's body, but Gible's power wasn't to be underestimated. It thrust Sandslash's ball of rollout into the ground. The rest was taken care by friction. But of course Rollout's momentum was too good to be stopped, and Gible's arms were too small, so the Rollout struck it anyway.

Ash successfully stopped Rollout. If Gible's arms had been longer—no, if Gible had been a Gabite, it could have stopped Rollout without breaking a sweat. A power-upped rollout would have been stopped like it was nothing. It was just simple physics. The funny part was, Ash didn't even know what Physics was.

The boy before him was a battle genius. He doesn't have the knack to remember complicated stuff like special abilities and all, his specialty lies in making out of box strategies and win matches.

He was ten times better than Alex was when he was fifteen.

"What a lucker!" A.J shrugged. "I guess your stars are good today."

Lucker wasn't even a word. Ah, no it didn't matter, this kid doesn't seem to notice what Ash did.

Tch.

Ash simply grinned innocently at A.J's component. Ah, so he has a shrewd side too? The more he watched his son, the more he learnt about him. Especially in battle.

Ash's battle style isn't as straight forward as people make it out to be.

* * *

"Luck won't get you victories, Ash!" A.J whipped against the ground, "Rollout once more!"

Let's do it again then. Let's see how much of it was luck.

"Gible, jump and use Rock Smash!"

My little friend was facing the annoying move again. But this time, Rollout wasn't power-upped. He can do it.

Gible, having used to the fast Rollout jumped onto this one with ease, and punched straight on top. This time it was perfect.

The ground beneath Sandslash cracked once more, this time with more impact. The rolling turned into rotating and then stopped. Gible simply jumped off Sandslash and stared at the curled stationary ball.

"Again?" A.J clenched the whip in frustration. "So it wasn't luck, eh?"

So he figured it out. Now use your next move. No, I'll just take the lead from now.

"Dragon Pulse!"

A.J followed my lead, "Use Dig!" He commanded.

"Follow it!" I barked. An underground battle would be interesting.

Following Sandslash, Gible jumped into the ground.

The field was empty, as the two Pokémon went deep inside to the ground. As trainers there was nothing we could do on the ground. Instead we exchanged glances.

"You made a mistake, Ash!" The spiky haired boy smiled viciously. "I have been training my Sandslash just for this."

I retorted, "Don't underestimate my Gible either."

Just as said that, two piles of sand rose up, as Gible and Sandslash erupted from the ground at the same time.

I don't know what happened underground but this was a good chance, Sandslash's front was exposed.

"Dragon Pulse!"

Gible struck the mouse with the powerful attack before A.J could even react.

The attack that struck Sandslash straight on its face threw it off balance onto the ground, where it staggered to balance on its feet.

"That's some damage," I smirked.

A.J was unhappy. Maybe because he didn't expect much from a tiny Pokémon. Appearances can be deceiving.

But still I can't deny the fact that Sandslash was extremely good. The difficulty it put us in with just Rollout was too much. And I was kinda lucky with the damage we did just now. For all we know, Gible would have run off after not coping up with Sandslash underground.

He still has two more moves left. I wonder what they are.

A.J looked at us with animosity, "You are giving us a lot of trouble than I thought. I guess we should go all out."

Gible wasn't my ace Pokémon, but he needs to go all out to defeat any of my Pokémon, that was for sure.

"I thought that was all your Sandslash could do," I bluffed.

A.J smiled, "You have gotten just as cocky as good. Let's see how you'll face my Sand Rush."

"Sand Rush?" The name was familiar. I don't remember where I heard it. Dad must have taught it in his ability classes, but I hardly remember much. All of that stuff was too much to take in. He taught me about a five hundred abilities in just one day. I should have mugged up like he told, but I used the time to perfect Multiple Thunderbolt. Not that it did much good.

"Sandslash, sandstorm!" He commanded as if he just ordered the extinction of all humans.

Sandslash lifted its claws into the air in a prayer like ritual.

'Sandslash whipped up a Sandstorm' was the accurate description of what happened now. Out of nothing, a swirling tornado of sand rose engulfing everything around its wake. Some of the sand ended up in my mouth. It was definitely not worth eating.

Holding my hat in its place I watched Gible who stood in the sand, unfazed, and mouth still open. I guess mama Garchomps need not worry about their kids eating mud.

"Witness my *cough*Sandslash's *cough* Sand Rush!" A.J was having a hard time speaking, and yet couldn't resist from gloating.

So it was something good?

"X-Scissor!"

I heard a distant voice shout.

I said, "Watch out, Gible!"

My eyes were set on Sandslash. For god knows why, he decided to not use this move till now. I have to be careful with his claws, but at the same time if I let him come closer I could attack its frontal part for heavy damage.

Then, Sandslash disappeared from my view. Like a magic, like an Alakazam's teleportation and—

Appeared right before Gible.

"DO—"

I didn't even have time to complete my command and Gible was slashed by the mouse Pokémon's sharp claws.

"Gible!" I cried.

The damage was too much. That Sandslash's pretty fast! Damn it, what happened till now wasn't even a real battle. We can't lose now.

I—

"_Ash, get stronger."_

Three words flashed my mind. I have to get stronger. That's true. I am not getting stronger if I keep losing like this. I should try dad's battle style.

Sandslash was fast, superfast! Dammit I can't do anything!

Ah, I am panicking. Dammit, I knew I was panicking and it's only making things worse.

There gotta be something Gible could do and—

A bulb flashed in my brain.

Gible's special ability: Sand Veil. Well, I at least remembered the important parts from dad's coaching.

I said to myself, "I guess it's good to panic, once in a while."

I ordered the dragon type, "Gible, use your special ability, hide in the storm!"

A.J screamed from the other side, "Finish it off!"

Sandslash raised its arms, preparing to strike again. Like a ghost Gible slipped into the storm.

I couldn't see it, but I am pretty sure A.J was frustrated. If A.J had known about Gible it would have been different. But A.J didn't knew what Gible's ability was, and dug his own grave. Today's my win, A.J.

The toying began. Gible appeared behind Sandslash. The Pokémon noticing the presence behind turned around and prepared to slash Gible, but the Pokémon was long gone.

Sandslash jerked its head to the right, and jumped straight at Gible, and ended up slashing an false image.

A chance! "Gible, Dragon Pulse!"

A green orb appeared out of nowhere but—

"You can dodge it, Sandslash!"

Sandslash noticed the attack too late, but for the demonic speed it possessed now it wasn't _that_ late.

Half a second later, Sandslash was found slashing empty air again.

"Good Job, Gible," I muttered.

Sandslash can't hit me, but I can't Sandslash either. Man! This was a stalemate.

A.J on the other hand wasn't keen on giving up. "Keep attacking, Sandslash!"

Likewise, "Keep Dodging!"

This was unbelievable superiority. Either Pokémon thanks to the weather effects, and their abilities were able to perform things outside their capability. The battle transcended from ordinary to extraordinary even by Pokémon standards.

I could wait till Sandslash loses energy to fight and finish the battle. But that's risky. I can't rest the battle on a possibility. There was a good chance that Gible could be struck before that happens.

Using Rock Smash was a suicide. Dragon Pulse would easily be dodged. Sandslash has superiority underground so Dig wasn't an option. I could try Draco Meteor. But with a speed like that—

No, before Gible could even do the attack, it will give away its location. I should think something and quick!

I have absolutely no use with Dig or Rock Smash; both the moves would make me lose. Dragon Pulse was too slow to hit Sandslash, and on top of that it would throw Gible in danger if I keep using it. Sandslash's fast and A.J's smart enough to use it.

I have no choice. I _have_ to use Draco Meteor and finish this match. But how? Maybe like I did against Conway? I could try eating Sandslash's attack. But that speed, there was no way Gible could outmatch that. But with Sand veil…

A plan began to form in my head. But would that be even possible? It's outrageous, if I fail I lose. It's do or die.

I shouted, "Gible use Dragon Pulse!"

"You are a goner!" A.J yelled.

Sandslash disappeared before Dragon Pulse hit and appeared at what was the source of the attack. But there was nothing.

"Be sharp, Sandslash. Don't let it escape this time."

He knows using Dragon Pulse would be game for me. Gible could perform tricks and confuse Sandslash, but if it knew where Gible exactly was, the special ability won't exactly make Gible disappear from the sight.

He's on high alert now. If I am not careful, he would finish the battle. But I will lower my guard.

One X-Scissor was enough to put Gible out of shape. This one would definitely finish Gible off. That Sandslash's high leveled, I have to accept that first.

So—"Gible. Jump and use Dragon Pulse!"

"Gotcha!"

Sandslash stiffened its muscles, ready to dodge anytime and hit the source.

Gible, who doesn't know my plan, decided to play it safe and attacked from behind.

Good Job. "Get ready for a bite, Gible!" I hope he gets the hint.

Sandslash got away from the attack's path halfway before it could even strike the ground and disappeared from the sight.

A.J exclaimed, victory's sweetness echoing in his voice, "X-Scissor!"

Sandslash appeared somewhere in the air, and extended its arms, to perform the perfect X. But-

Gible wasn't where Sandslash 'sensed' it to be. Sandslash landed on the ground, wondering why despite its amazing speed it couldn't hit its target.

The target was in fact only a few centimeters above where it attacked. It was extremely slow when compared to Sandslash, but the distance between them would be too low it compensated the speed difference. Well, at least I expected all of this to happen. I didn't actually see what happened.

But the end result was the same.

Gible was latched onto Sandslash's claws, which were clamped together by Gible's teeth.

The Sandstorm was cleared off. My experience with Boldore told me, they were temporary. It didn't matter much now, anyway. Other than giving me the spectacle of an astonished A.J. Well that filled my ego a bit.

A.J's hands shivered, "H-How?"

"Holy Deus Ex Machina!" Dad exclaimed at the same time.

There was no time for gloating around. It was time to call down the curtains before Sandslash jerked its way out of Gible's jaws. "Gible, Draco Meteor!"

A.J screamed, "D-Draco what?!"

With a power unexpected of a tiny Pokémon, Gible pulled an astonished Sandslash into the air. The mouse which dangled in the air, kicked its legs to pull itself down. Gible's hold didn't weaken. It was something he specialized in. All his strength lied in his jaws. If I give it some time Sandslash could break out and escape, but I wasn't doing that.

Gible's belly turned into an orange furnace. The expression on A.J's face turned more and more terrified. Not knowing about a move could be very bad. If he did know about Draco Meteor he would have tried something or yell Sandslash to escape. Not that it would have made any difference but still. I guess there weren't many Dragon Types in Kanto. Even Dragonites were rare.

The orange sphere of destruction moved up slowly, and began to engulf Sandslash in it. By now, Sandslash forgot any hopes of fighting up and let itself drown in the attack.

"Now!"

The orange sphere was tossed into the air, to a good twenty feet above the ground, where it exploded in different directions. The split energy landed back onto the ground like a meteor shower. It was mimicry of a real meteor showers with dragon energy, hence the name Draco Meteor, or so Brock said.

A.J was speechless. Who wouldn't be after witnessing such an attack for the first time? It was that amazing, brilliant and _that _strong.

"Sandslash is unable to win Gible wins," Dad announced.

He finally snapped out of it and noticed that his Sandslash was lying on the ground, unconscious.

We won. It was unbelievable but once again, Gible's jaws saved the day. "You were awesome, Gible," I stretched out my arms as Gible lunged at me, and lifted into the air.

He didn't show much, but he was definitely very happy defeating a powerful Pokémon like that.

"That was a good battle," Dad clapped.

A disappointed A.J took his Sandslash back inside. His seems to be pissed off but he smiled anyway, "You are pretty good, Ash. You are not the same kid I remember from back then."

"You were amazing too," I smiled back. The words seemed to have rejuvenated his spirits because he looked more pleased.

"I guess I should train extra hard to beat you at the Champion's League," he said wiping the sand off his face.

"I will get a lot stronger by then, let's have a full battle the next time," I said.

"Of course," he said coiling his whip around his palm. "Until then, Ash." He produced his other hand. The two of us shook hands with each other, promising for the future, for our goals.

* * *

"A.J's pretty strong, but it's still amazing I won," Ash was happy today. Ever since he lost to Paul, his spirit was a bit low, even if he looked excited. But it seems his confidence has returned completely.

"I think the new battle style did pretty good, eh?" Alex asked the boy.

"Yeah, but I think there's another thing I must observe while trying this new style," Ash said. "I have to check my Pokémon's limitations too. Even if I find a weakness in my opponent, it's useless if my Pokémon can't use it."

Excellent. That was the third point he had deliberately left out, and Ash had figured it out. But still, the new battle style was nothing new to this kid. It only changed his views a bit. From now on, he would concentrate on the opponent's Pokémon along with the field. He needs more practice with tactics like this.

Yes at this rate, within one year while his Pokémon grow strong, even Ash will grow stronger as a trainer. Put and two and two together, it will be four.

"Well, now that we finished our day training today," Alex grinned deviously, "It's time for you to remember the special abilities I taught you. You did forget about Sand Rush in the battle."

"I didn't forget it!" He protested, "I was only bluffing. I wanted to look weak in front of A.J."

"I wonder," the father insisted.

"It's the truth," the boy puffed his cheeks.

As they walked, the barren land slowly grew into a lush green. A hint that they were approaching Pallet. "I am looking forward to face A.J again. He's really good isn't he?"

Alex remained silent at his question. The boy called A.J had zero chances to even go to round two. If he lost to an inexperienced Gible with his strongest Pokémon, what were the odds of him winning the League?

In Pokémon battles, previous knowledge was important. Even Ash knows that. You can't dodge an attack unless you know what it could do. A.J had never been out of Kanto, so he will never win matches against foreign Pokémon.

"He chose the wrong path to become strong," Alex said. That was enough; Ash should be able to figure the rest out.

* * *

"Finally!" Iris sighed as May and Gary headed out.

Misty and Iris followed the duo out of the restaurant. "I hope the fun part begins now," Iris said. "All we have been watching was May eating and Gary, silently crying for it."

The man at the door opened it as the two of them walked out, "Thank you sir," he bowed. Misty placed a bill in his hand and headed out, Iris in her hand.

"Shouldn't the gym leaders of Kanto and Unova have better things to do than stalking on dates?" An old yet firm voice spoke.

The two girls spun around at once, only to find a lone old woman in her sixties standing before them. She had a withering blonde hair, and a stick to support her walking.

"Um," Misty didn't know what exactly she should say.

'Oops you broke our cover. Who are you?' She wanted to ask but—

The woman showed them a green colored book. "Misty and Iris, right?" She said showing the book to the girls.

The girls looked at the page the woman showed them. It was a photo collection of all the gym leaders of Kanto on one page. Misty was in the second row. Below it was Johto, and on the next page to the corner was Unova, and in the corner was Iris.

Above the photos was the title 'TIER 5'.

"Is this the league brochure?" Misty asked. "I thought they would release it to the public on fifth."

"Well," the woman smiled, "I am special."

"Um, so who are you?" Iris asked, doubtfully.

She was annoyed by this, "Kids these days," the woman snorted. "You hardly know your manners." She flipped the pages and showed them the book again. The heading was 'TIER 2' this time.

Confused, Misty and Iris looked at the photos until their eyes stopped at the title 'Agatha, Ghost/Poison' under the heading Elite Four-Kanto.

The girls looked at the woman once more, and checked the photo again, and then exchanged a glance. They immediately jumped to an attention position and bowed to the woman who watched their reactions proudly. "I am sorry, Miss Agatha. I didn't think it was you." Misty humbly apologized.

"Ah, it's fine," the woman took the apology. "I came here for the two of you because I have a request."

"What is it?" Iris asked, being extra-sweet.

"The gym leader of Viridian City returned," Agatha said with a frown. "I don't think I like it at all. I mean personally. So, I need the two of you assist me in investigating him."

The gym leader of Viridian City? Who was he?

"In case you don't know who he is," Agatha flipped the page of the book again and showed it to Misty, "Look at the photo below yours."

Misty casually looked down at the photo below hers. "You are kidding me!" She exclaimed.

"He is a gym leader?!" Iris exclaimed, no sooner.

"And he is up to no good," Agatha said. "Because he is the leader of Team Rocket."

**By the way, I have written two new stories. If you are a fan of anime, then take a look at the three new amazing series I am writing on.**


	6. Giovanni's announcement

**October 4**

**Countdown 362:17:45:23**

A deep yawn broke the unwelcome silence in the living room.

It was 6 AM. Delia Ketchum was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for her beloved husband, son and his friends. Cilan and Brock usually helped her out, but Alex insisted that he wanted to eat her cooking.

"You're up so early?" Alex entered the kitchen, "I thought you would get up a little later, we were pretty late last night weren't we?"

She blushed a bit, "Well, my husband and son will be training pretty hard, isn't it my responsibility to feed them properly?"

Alex smiled at her comment, and proceeded to kiss on her forehead. "I'll go wake up, Ash," he said, taking his mug of coffee.

"Honey," she called as he left. "Ash was up before I did. His bedroom was empty at 5:30."

The news was a pleasant surprise for Alex. "Good, he seems to be taking things seriously."

"He's always serious, Alex," Delia insisted. Delia believed she knew her son a lot better than Alex. They had some discussion last night about the way he talked to Ash.

Alex smiled in response, "I always criticize Ash because he gets too easily carried away. He's just like me honey. Trust me, I know how Pokémon battles work, and I'll tell you one thing—" he told, "I wish I were as talented as Ash."

Delia was satisfied by his answer. "But don't overdo it," she added.

"I know what buttons I need to push," he sighed. "You have raised a fine kid, except the romantic side though."

"I don't want him to be a pervert," she said throwing him a dirty look. "Tell me, how many women have you spent with, during these ten years."

Startled by the sudden question, Alex pretended to cough and walked out of the kitchen, "Women," he mumbled as he left. Delia realized the answer was more than zero.

As she proceeded back to the cooking, she heard the main door open. "Good morning, kiddo," she heard her husband greet their only son.

A spatula in hand, she headed to the living room. The boy much to her surprise was wobbling like a drunkard. "Good morning, dad," he grumbled weakly.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Delia asked the boy.

"Nothing," he muttered. "I'm going to sleep," he said taking the stairs to his room.

The husband and wife exchanged a glance. Alex turned serious, "You're feeling drowsy already? It's six thirty!"

The boy remained passive to Alex's comments, and continued to walk upstairs.

"Why don't you let him sleep a bit?" She suggested. "He must be tired."

"Absolutely not," Alex exclaimed, before lunging for their fifteen year old and dragged him downstairs. "The cold air outside will remove the drowsiness."

"Alex," Delia complained as he dragged Ash out. "Can't you be gentler?"

Alex didn't heed her and dashed outside, "Men should always be active Ash!"

"Mime," Mr. Mime sighed as Alex dashed outside. The Pokémon agreed with her, she realized.

She followed Alex outside, to make sure that he wouldn't do anything drastic. As he headed out, the neighbor, Mr. Wilson came that way, in midst of his daily walk.

"Hey Alex," the middle aged man waved to her husband, "You're overworking your kid, buddy. Give the kid some rest."

Delia stiffened, owing to the fear as for what kind of ridiculous comment Alex would spout in reply. She expected nothing less of a 'Mind your business' added with a foul word that she deemed not to utter.

Alex however remained calm and polite, "George, my boy needs to be a Pokémon Master. Nothing is overworking for that kind of a goal," he smiled proudly like the true father-like character she wanted him to act like. She was more than happy, and at the same time suspected if someone drugged Alex into goodness.

George however put a worried expression, "Isn't an all-nighter too much?" He asked.

"All-nighter?" Both Alex and Delia asked the same time.

"Yeah," George said, "Those attacks keep exploding in my ears. I had a hard time sleeping actually."

Alex and Delia exchanged another glance, and looked at Ash, who now hung asleep under Alex's firm grip.

"Alex, get Ash to the bed right NOW!" Delia yelled with the toughest of her tone. For once even Delia Ketchum was serious.

* * *

Professor Oak had a hard time that morning.

Why? Because the main source of all his troubles, Totodile somehow evolved overnight, and turned out into a bigger trouble maker.

"Croconaw!" The Pokémon liking its newly power-upped jaws enjoyed harassing the whole ranch, threatening to bite everything up. It wasn't a pretty sight, when Gible thought of it as a master and followed it, crunching everything they laid their eyes on.

Things finally settled down when Servine, Ash's Unovan Pokémon used attract and immobilized both of them.

But he did notice something strange during his regular morning checkup. Croconaw was fatigued despite looking excited, and so were Buizel, Glalie and Oshawott.

At that time, he received a call from Alex. "Hey Prof, are any of my son's Pokémon tired?" He asked.

Prof. Oak realized what Alex meant. Ash must have been responsible for Totodile's surprise evolution. "Four of them," Oak said. "Buizel, Glalie, Oshawott. Most surprisingly, his Totodile evolved overnight."

The person on the other side was shocked by the news. "Could you check and tell me if Oshawott and Croconaw learnt any ice type moves."

"Ice type…?" Prof. Oak couldn't comprehend his strange request. "I'll ask Tracey to check on them." He put the receiver down and yelled for his assistant, "Tracey!"

The Pokémon Sketcher appeared in no time. "Could you check something for me?" Prof. Oak asked him.

* * *

Alex was stupefied. "All I did was tell him that it's always better to teach ice type moves for your Water type Pokémon," he told his wife, who stood eagerly beside him. "He taught an Ice Beam and an Ice Fang overnight."

"And Totodile evolved too," she mentioned. "I don't know how hard he works when he's not home but this—" She was extremely worried.

"Yeah, it's too much," he grumbled. "Don't worry; I'll make sure he won't do that again." Alex knew, those words would only make her worry more.

"Where's Pikachu by the way?" She asked.

Alex didn't know either. The rodent always clung to him. His eyes then fell on Ash's bag that seemed inconspicuously stuffed. "There's your answer," he said, as he extracted the rodent from the bag, deep in sleep.

"He must have been trying Multiple Thunderbolt too," he sighed. The kid really took it too far.

* * *

I was woken up, by a cold splash of water on my face that shook any hint of drowsiness inside me, and instead enveloped a sudden fear in my heart.

"What the he—" I paused, when I noticed mom waiting at the bedroom's door.

"Look Ash, you wet your bed last night," a man makes a joke that's ridiculously out of place coming from an adult.

I brushed my wet hair, and frowned at my dad, standing beside the bed, a bucket in his hands, and a stupid grin on his face. "Bad Morning, Dad." I said after a pause, "Bad joke too."

"Well said, Ash," Mom supported my statement. "Try to be thirty-four Alex," she complained.

The cold water made me shiver, but a splitting headache soon followed. I need to sleep more, "What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"8 A.M," Dad declared proudly. "Now get back to training."

Ridiculous. "I was up last night," I objected his command; "You told that a healthy man needs six hours of sleep, right?"

"Yes," he glared me into submission. "But I also told you to follow _my_ schedule. Get to bed at 12, and get up at 6. Six hours of perfect sleep, no less, no more. That's what I said!" He clasped my arm and tried pulling me out of the bed. "Now get up, we are two hours behind schedule."

You gotta be kidding me. I'll die if I sleep only two hours! I turned to my only hope, my sweet mother. "Mom, please let me sleep for some time."

"I'm sorry, Ash," she maintained a frown that you rarely see on her face if you're an outsider. "I'm with your dad on this one."

What the heck? Since when did she turn the tables on me?

I began to protest, "But mom—!"

"Soldier Ash!" Dad barked at the top of his voice causing my heart to skip a beat. "Attention!"

I jumped out of the bed, in fear, and mumbled weakly, "Yeah, yeah I get it."

My mom's taking her sweet revenge for worrying her too much.

"Good," she smiled, "Take a bath, breakfast is ready. The two of you will be setting off right after."

Setting off? I looked at my dad, "Where?"

"Kanto," he replied.

That's a vague answer. "Where?" I asked again.

"The whole region," he said, "Get ready," he said coarsely before leaving the room.

"Man!" I complained to no one in general. This doesn't feel home. It feels like military training.

Finishing my bath, I went downstairs for breakfast. The dining room was lively, filled with more people than usual. Normally it's just me and mom. Now, we have Cilan, Brock and Dad, not to mention Pikachu. In ten years, this might be the liveliest breakfast I have ever seen. Speaking of which, where was Misty, Iris and May?

"Good morning Ash," Brock and Cilan wished as I took a chair between them.

"Morning guys," I said. The headache was still there. I shouldn't have overdone last night.

"Repenting is good," Dad said casually, as if he meant it to be a general statement. It obviously wasn't.

"I am not repenting," I fought back.

"Liar," Dad quipped.

"I am not lying," I protested.

"Liar who lies about saying lies is a double liar," he said again.

"I'm lying about not lying to you!" I yelled back. The statement somehow made everyone chuckle.

What was so funny?! It infuriated me.

"Ash," Cilan said calmly. "It's supposed to be 'I'm not lying about lying to you'."

"Does it matter?" I asked. What's the difference?

"Nope," Dad said, hiding a smile. I didn't realize the mistake I made till then.

"I hate you, dad."

"Thanks," Dad took it with a smile. Jeez, what was up with him today?

"You're surprisingly mature today, Alex," Mom said, as she served the breakfast. Dad snorted, beaming at me proudly.

I see. I finally understand the reason behind his stupid smile. He's happy that mom sided with him for the first time. If Iris were here she could have called him a kid. Speaking of which—

"Where are those three?" I asked, "Misty, May and Iris."

"Missing the girls already?" Dad said, raising an eyebrow.

Okay he's taking it too far. Seriously, was he really a father, or an adult bully?

"You are on a roll today, Mr. Ketchum," Brock obviously enjoyed it. _Everyone_ was against me today.

"Those three girls and Gary stayed in Viridian. They said something important came up over there." Mom explained.

What could be so important? Something was definitely fishy with that.

"I heard May's leaving today." Cilan said before taking a pause, "I heard you're travelling throughout Kanto with Mr. Alex."

"Yeah," I replied. Honestly, I have no freaking idea about it. I hate it when my dad makes decisions for me even if they were good ones. "Wanna come with us? There're pretty cool Pokémon in Kanto."

"Thanks," Cilan said with a smile, "But, I am actually going to Pewter City with Brock. I have been asked by the Sommelier Association to develop the art in the important cities of Kanto. I decided to start with Pewter and then head to Cerulean and so on."

"That's great," I said. I still don't have a proper grasp of what Sommeliers were. I decided to go with the flow anyway. "Good luck, Cilan."

"That means, this is a farewell for us," Brock said.

I actually didn't spend much time with my friends. I have my dad to blame for that. "I'm sorry guys," I apologized.

"What are you apologizing for?" Brock laughed, "We can always meet after the league."

After I _win_ the League.

* * *

"How did you manage to get into the lab anyway," Oak asked, as we entered the lab. "I thought I locked the doors."

Half past eight, we were in Oak's lab. Dad told we were going to set off immediately. Dad asked Mom to join in our journey. She told him not to worry about her, but asked him not to forget to call every day. She was more worried that she might hold us back in case she joins us.

"Mom has extra keys, remember?" I reminded him. Prof. Oak had to go to an important meeting last year. He gave the duplicate keys to my mom that day.

"That was remarkable progress for one night Ash," Tracey said. "Congratulations by the way. Croconaw's a bigger trouble to deal though."

"Thanks," I laughed uncomfortably for being praised and complained at the same time. "I'll make sure Bulbasaur checks on him."

"So which six will you be taking?" Dad asked, observing the list of my Pokémon in his hand.

"Five," I corrected. Pikachu was always in the team. So it's five not six.

"Yeah," he smacked his forehead, "Which five?"

I studied the Pokéball, and weighed out my options for a while. After five minutes of contemplation, I finally decided, "Gible, Boldore, Buizel, Unefezant and Tauros."

"Tauros?" Dad mused, "So you were considering my idea?"

"Yeah," I said. It was actually dad's idea to take Tauros. There was a move he said would be useful for us. I liked the idea, now was the best to train him.

"We'll rotate once we get to Pewter," Dad said. "We're going to rely on your services, Professor."

"Anytime for you guys," Prof. Oak said. He then leaned and whispered something in Dad's ears.

"Of course not," Dad suddenly grew uncomfortable, "Delia will whip me if she finds out."

What the heck were they talking about?

"In that case," Prof. Oak smiled, "Good luck to the two of you. I think Ash will grow stronger under you Alex, I am already seeing the results."

"Thanks, Professor," I said. He would definitely be surprised after one year.

After bidding our farewell at Oak's, both dad and I set off on our new journey. Our journey throughout Kanto has begun. One more year. I wonder how strong I would become by then.

I am getting excited already, just by imagining my friends watch in awe after I have grown stronger. I need to train super super hard for that to become real. "Alright, let's do this, Pikachu!" I cried at the top of my voice. I am pretty sure it echoed throughout the town.

* * *

"We are bringing this live report from Viridian City," the reporter announced enthusiastically.

Having realized that they were too close to a live T.V camera, May combed her hair superfast for the fourth time since morning.

"That's the third time," the old woman Agatha found this annoying. May justified this as her way to quench jealousy. An elite four she might be, but she wasn't even close to her as a beauty.

"Youngsters these days," Agatha began to ramble for the umpteenth time.

"Miss Agatha, take it easy," Gary tried to calm her down. "It's not good for you hea—"

"How dare you call me a good for nothing old woman," she snapped at the younger Oak. "Honestly, youngsters like you don't have the minimum decency to respect your elders. Not that I expect much from Samuel's grandson…" the dialogue went on. May stopped following it.

"Where are they?" May asked, referring to Misty and Iris.

"Agatha asked them to check the perimeter," Gary replied. It has been quite a day for Gary. For the first time in life he wished he wasn't Samuel Oak's grandson.

"…That good for nothing wannabe playboy…." Agatha continued.

Agatha's rant could have continued for quite a while but fortunately Iris and Misty joined them. "We've checked everything. The police have secured everything," Iris reported.

"Not bad," Agatha said. "Fine, we go before the cameras now," she looked at May who was quite enthusiastic about it. "You, little girl will stay here with Samuel's grandson. Misty, Iris come with me."

"What?!" May exclaimed. "Excuse me but I have been readying myself for nothing?"

"Precisely," Agatha said, "I have been saying that from the start. Youth these days," she shook her head.

May was dejected. She knew the old hag was doing this on purpose. She was jealous, extremely jealous.

"Calm down, May," Gary placed an arm on her shoulder. "There's a reason actually. The both of us aren't gym leaders."

* * *

Misty and Iris led Agatha through the crowd, none failing to _not_ recognize her. It made Agatha furious, but she remained calm. There was a situation here, after all.

All three of them stood before the numerous cameras at the Viridian Gym's entrance. A huge crowd surrounded the gym, waiting for something to happen. The something was of course Agatha appearing before the camera.

"Friends," the reporter kept giving her running commentary, "An old woman has just appeared before the—" she paused when she heard a voice through her ear set. "I mean, Miss Agatha, the Ghost type Elite four from Kanto has appeared before the cameras with two girls—" she paused once more as someone from the studio relayed information. "Who happens to be Misty Waterflower, of the Cerulean Gym, and Iris from Opelucid gym."

Needless to say, Agatha was furious. No one ever remembered her face. All they care about was Cynthia. What's the difference between them? Granted she had a long hair, but either of them were blonde, and not to mention beautiful. She was clueless as to why youth these days preferred Cynthia so much.

"Ahem," she coughed to bring the media-persons to attention. Instantly, a dozen set of microphones suddenly dashed towards Agatha's mouth. She protected her face, just in case the enthusiastic reporters might knock her dentures.

Once she ensured the safety of her artificial teeth she began the speech that she has so eloquently prepared to impress the youth that failed _not_ to ignore her till now. "Today we have assembled—"

Unfortunately before she could complete her sentence, a reporter inched his mic forward, endangering her false teeth and asked, "Miss Agatha, is it true that Giovanni is about to disband Team Rocket?"

With a sullen face she said, "Yes."

"What could be the implications behind this?" Another reporter asked. "Is Giovanni trying to come clean after all these years?"

"I don't know," she replied curtly, "If I knew I could run my own organization perhaps."

The youthful media-persons chuckled at this, satisfying Agatha's ego. "Miss Waterflower, we have heard rumors that you're dating a Pokémon trainer from Pallet Town, is that true?"

Misty was stupefied by the sudden question, and ended up blushing. "Can we please stay _on_-topic?!" Agatha snapped at the journalist.

A lot other questions have been posed. Agatha replied them one after the other, while carefully avoiding dangerous questions.

Officer Jenny walked up to her in midst of her questions and whispered that Giovanni was ready. The old woman turned to the microphones and replied, "The person we've been waiting for is willing to speak now."

The entire crowd went hush, and then a wave of murmur washed through the said crowd. On everyone's lips was the same person: Giovanni.

What was his motive behind letting himself to the police?

Certainly not a good one. People rot for ages in jail, and yet don't change their ways. Could a man who did nothing but enjoy his freedom till now reform suddenly?

Not a chance.

Even if he planned to do so, his own members would end up killing him for the betrayal.

The wave of murmurs roared into a tsunami suddenly. Agatha turned around—

* * *

Much as expected, the man named Giovanni walked towards the sea of crowd waiting for him.

Misty felt her blood boiling. She knew how much of a villain Giovanni was, she knew what he was capable of. If she were so angry at him, just how much angry could Ash get?

Giovanni walked towards the crowd, not an ounce of guilt on his face, nor an expression indicating repentance.

He was handcuffed, hands to his back. But he walked proudly, as if it were a medal given for his bravados.

Agatha motioned Misty to move. The three women gave way for the man, Giovanni who was followed by two police officers. It was a useless thing to do; everybody knew he wouldn't run away, not after surrendering like this.

The microphones were thrust at him like spears, and so were the questions coming from the reporter's lips. But Giovanni ignored them all.

"People of Kanto, and perhaps the world."

His first statement silenced the reporters, and then the crowd. Misty realized the difference between Agatha and Giovanni in captivating the people was too much.

"I, Giovanni have come to announce—"he paused for a second, giving them the calm before the storm. "Team Rocket's disbandment."

Uproar swept through the people around. With just one line Giovanni threw the entire world into chaos. Every single creature that watched this news was stunned.

He continued to his second statement, "I have not come here to offer any apologies."

If Giovanni's first statement was a stone that caused the calm water to ripple, his second statement was a magic that stopped the ripples and turned the water calm.

"However, what I am going to offer is an explanation," he looked at each of the people assembled, wondering if anyone would utter a noise. They didn't.

"Team Rocket has been branded as an evil organization by some of my enemies. The truth is, my organization was never a criminal organization to begin with."

"Bull shit," Misty muttered under her breath.

"The actions of thievery committed were individual crimes, to whose actions I am not responsible. My organization's goal was to develop a new business, the gem stone business. And I am here to proudly announce that we had an amazing turnover last year. The bank statements were sent to the income tax department, and the police department.

"You are kidding me," Agatha frowned. "He's trying to get away."

"How's that possible, there were proofs that Rockets have gone to extreme more than once," a reporter asked.

"Now, were they?" Giovanni asked. "I am sure you won't find _me_ indulge in any such activities."

"Of course he wouldn't," Agatha snapped, "Because he only watches the grunts do his dirty work."

"Do you have a proof to back up your accusations?" Giovanni asked, turning back.

"I am an eye—" Misty paused. The Mewtwo incident can't be used a proof. Everyone except the three of them lost their memories regarding Mewtwo.

"I am an eye witness," Iris said, "We confronted him in the Unova region."

"Then it comes under Unovan jurisdiction," Giovanni turned back and replied, "Besides, I happen to have an alibi that I have been in Kanto all along."

"What did you say?" Iris looked like she would go and kick him, but Misty restrained her.

"I'm willing to give a trial," Giovanni turned to the reporters, "I want to come clean, so that I could claim my company's shares in the Pokémon League."

"P-Pokémon League?" Misty stuttered.

"Ridiculous!" Agatha accused.

* * *

Viridian City

Ash looked at the board, and beamed proudly. "We made it under half-a-day," he announced.

"Yeah," Alex was honestly surprised too. It took him three days when he travelled. It was easier to get to Viridian if you have stronger Pokémon, it seems.

As they took the main road, which led to the Pokémon Center, Alex noticed the unusually large number of crowd dispersing. Most of them were chattering, a frown on each of their faces.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"I don't know either," Alex muttered. "Excuse me," he called a certain young man walking alone. When the young man noticed Alex he asked, "What's going on here?"

The young man raised his eyebrows and said, "Giovanni happened," he shrugged. "That guy's planning to—"

"Where?" Alex caught him by the collars, startling the young man. "Where's he?" He demanded.

"Chill dude," the young man who was obviously intimidated pushed Alex back, "He's in the Viridian Gym, a few minutes ago."

In the next instant, Alex was running towards the Viridian gym, with only one name in his mind.

"Giovanni!"

* * *

"That was a disaster," Iris sighed. That guy Giovanni pissed her off. He was clearly in Unova when they tried to control Landorus, Tornadus and Thundrus. In fact, he was the one who controlled the three legendary Pokémon.

"Let's hope, he doesn't just walk away," Agatha gently tapped the flooring of the courtyard. "They need to convict for something or the other, pickpocketing in the least. My old soul can't die accepting this insanity."

Misty and May exchanged a worried glance. Gary on the other hand was busy with his phone, talking to Professor Oak regarding the issue.

After taking a deep breath Agatha turned to them, "Thank you for helping me," she muttered. "Now that our business is done, let's go home and pray Giovanni doesn't come out clean."

But as they prepared to disperse a new voice called, "If it isn't young and charming Agatha,"

Young and Charming?

Iris wondered what kind of a person sees _Agatha_ as young and charming.

The answer was a short-fat guy in a blue Hawaii shirt and shorts, with a red cellphone dangling down his neck, and lousy glasses that made him look more suspicious than any mafia boss could ever wished to be.

"Mr. Scott!" For some reason May knew his name.

"Well if it isn't Scott," Agatha obviously liked him.

Iris realized Scott was the kind of guy who likes to please people around just in case they would be useful for him at some point. A shrewd business minded guy.

"Whoa, May," Scott identified the brunette immediately. "How's Ash doing?"

Ash? So this balloon knows him or something? Is he something important? A gym leader? Elite Four? Or simply a fat guy.

"He's training super hard for the league," she replied to Scott.

"Can't expect anything less," he laughed gently before turning to the rest of the group.

"He's the owner of the battle frontier," May introduced him. "Ash challenged all seven of his facilities and won."

"Hey," Scott waved. For some reason Iris felt paranoid around him. "Your hair looks beautiful, Iris," he greeted her.

Wait. Nobody _ever_ praised her hair like that. "Um, how do you know me?"

"Why _wouldn't_ I know about a beautiful gym leader like you," he smiled before turning to Misty. "The beautiful Cerulean Mermaid Misty, I presume."

"Y-Yeah," he got Misty in no time too.

"It's an honor to meet you," he turned lastly to Gary, "I heard about your exploits in the ancient Pokémon research, Gary Oak."

"Wow," Gary was surprised, "You keep tabs on things like that?"

"I like to keep my future options open," Scott said simply, as if it were nothing. "So I need to keep my eyes open for everything that happens in the world."

The conversation took a pleasant turn with Scott's arrival. But it didn't stand long because suddenly—

"Giovanni!"

Mr. Ketchum appeared out of nowhere.

* * *

What the heck was up with my dad?

I know Giovanni returning was a big deal. But running like this all of a sudden was kinda too much. Everyone was watching us. Now I understand why my friends feel embarrassed when I get excited for a gym match. I hate to accept it, but I'm too much like my dad.

Within two minutes we were in the street which contained the Gym. The crowd got thicker as we progressed further.

Dad kept bumping people, throwing everyone in his path off the track. Following him, I apologized to all those who threw glares at him.

"Sorry, we're in a hurry," I bowed to a certain old man who caught me by the collar because we looked alike. I hate my dad, you know.

"Giovanni!" Dad yelled as the gym doors came closer.

"Dad stop," I warned as I took the stairs that led to the courtyard.

"Gengar, shadow ball!"

Out of blue a black sphere of energy landed in dad's path. My old man was knocked by the impact, and fell to his back.

I turned to my left where the attack came from, and met up with more than one familiar face.

"Whoa," I exclaimed. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hiya Ash," Scott waved to me. "And hey Alex." He turned to my dad.

"Well if it isn't the janitor," Dad grumbled. "What the heck did you buy this time? The freaking Viridian City?"

"Viridian is out of my budget," Scott replied, jovially. "Pallet can be though. Should I buy it for you?"

"No thanks," he turned to Agatha. "Where the heck is Giovanni?"

"Viridian station," Agatha replied.

"Good," Dad muttered, and turned back. "I'm going there."

"Stop acting like a kid, Alex," Agatha said, "I understand what he did to you was horrible, but don't try to act like a fool."

Horrible? "What did he do?" I asked, curious.

"Sorry Agatha," he said lunging forward. "I'm waiting for none."

"Gengar," she commanded. "Hypnosis."

The shadow Pokémon dashed past me like a purple blur and appeared before Dad. Before he could give any reaction, the Pokémon sent a psionic wave of some kind. My old man fell unconscious the next second.

"He should stop being fifteen," she sighed. Somehow I was offended by that comment.

"What happened to my Dad?" I asked.

She replied, "I hypnotized—" and paused, realizing what I really meant. "That," she hesitated for a second. "It's better if your Dad tells you. If he put it a secret from you, then I don't have any right to disclose it."

Fair enough.

"I'll ask him then," I said looking at his sleeping figure. Something happened, I know that. Something forced my dad to leave his aim to be a Pokémon Master, and turn him back home. I know how painful it can be. I can't even imagine what I would become if they turn me back from my goal like that.

"Hey Ash," Scott called, "I was wondering how strong you've gotten since then."

"Frankly," I said, "I've gotten a lot stronger than you can imagine Scott."

"I expected you to win the Sinnoh League," Scott said, "If it weren't for Tobias I am positive you would have been the winner."

"A loss is a loss, Scott," I said. "If's and But's won't get me anywhere. If I need to be a Pokémon Master then I should be strong enough to beat Tobias."

And I was a long way from beating him.

"That's the spirit," Agatha smiled, releasing the constant frown off her face. "Finally a youngster that impresses me."

"Well that's correct," Scott said, "But hey I heard he defeated all the Sinnoh Elite Four in no time."

"Really?" Agatha raised an eyebrow. "I suppose beating that Darkrai could be troublesome for my Ghost types, but I think I can defeat him."

"He has more legendaries than just Darkrai," Scott said. "He used six against the Sinnoh Elite Four. Can you believe it?"

"A full team of legendaries?" Misty wondered. "That's scary."

_Six_? I could only beat two of them. Six was too much.

My target's bigger than I thought. My Pokémon were overwhelmed by Tobias. I can still remember that day.

Heracross

Torkoal

Gible

Sceptile

Swellow

Pikachu.

They were some of my finest Pokémon, and yet I could only manage to beat only two of his Pokémon. Even if I had used Charizard I could have defeated one more, not more for sure.

It's frustrating. The gap between us was just too much.

"Uggh," a grunt brought everyone's attention to my Dad. "Oh god," he rubbed his head.

"Dad," I caught him as he stumbled.

"Ash," he mumbled.

"He's up already?" Misty seemed surprised.

"It must have been a minor dose," Gary said, "Gengar must have lowered the wavelength of the psionic waves to make sure he doesn't break Mr. Ketchum's neural alignments."

We all stared at Gary surprised to see his nerd side. "That's about right," I said, pretending to understand.

"You don't even know what a wavelength is!" Misty, May and Iris exclaimed at the same time.

Hey so do they! None of us studied that stuff. I decided to keep quite though. Three girls are impossible to argue with.

"Giovanni's with the police," Agatha said to my dad who found it hard to stand on two feet, "It's stupid, there's nothing you can do now."

He sighed, and lowered his head. "Ash," he called my name.

"Yeah," I asked. I hope the Hypnosis didn't screw him up.

"If you were to fight Giovanni in the league," he said with a serious tone, "Will you beat him?"

I realized he was being _very_ serious. "I will crush him," I replied with an equally dark tone.

"Thank you," he said getting straight up. "Agatha thanks for stopping me," he said weakly.

Giovanni, he's a monster. I don't know what he did, but I won't settle down until I make him pay for it.

"Pikapi," Pikachu noticed my clenched fists. You're in there with me buddy? I asked silently.

Pikachu nodded.

"Alright let's cool down a bit," Scott said. He walked towards me and said, "Hey Ash, I want to see you battle after all these years. Care to show me a thing or two?"

"I would," I smirked. But who would be my opponent? I'm pretty sure Scott doesn't have any Pokémon.

"Agatha," Scott turned to her, "Care to treat us for a battle."

Agatha!

Of course. I have lost the last time but—

I looked at Agatha, hoping for her to reply with a yes.

A smile crept on her face, "I can't say no after you put a face like that, Ash." She turned around and walked into the gym. "Let's battle." She said.

"A battle with an elite four!" Iris exclaimed, clasping my arms. "You're pretty lucky, Ash."

"Best of luck," May wished. She frowned, "Show her a thing or two." Does she have any grudge on Agatha?

"It's been a while since I saw you battle," Misty said, folding her arms. "Don't disappoint me."

Of course not. I turned to Gary who remained silent throughout. My old rival simply smirked and gave me a thumbs-up.

* * *

The stands in the Viridian Gym were well-kept, despite being redundant. Misty's knowledge told her that the gym didn't have a proper challenger in three years, ever since Agatha came.

"The lighting is good?" Agatha asked Scott who flipped the switch on.

"Yeah," the business tycoon said as the entire room was filled with a powerful floodlight.

On the stands, Misty sat with Iris, beside her was May, Gary and lastly Alex. Having checked the lightings, he took a seat beside Misty.

"I wonder how he'll take on her," Scott seemed excited. "I wonder what kind of surprises he has in for us."

You wonder a lot, she wanted to say.

Well Ash was known for surprises. So, they were bound to see a thing or two. But from what she had seen, Misty knew Agatha was formidable. It wasn't just training your Pokémon to high levels, what's more important was understanding and utilizing their true capabilities. Agatha was excellent at that; Misty realized this from watching her yesterday while they spied on the Rockets.

"I will be using my Gengar," she announced taking a firm stance, supported by her wooden stick. The ghost type that floated beside her levitated into the air, and gave its signature grin. "What about you, Ash?"

Misty studied Ash. The confident Ash-smirk returned. He was different from the Ash back during his first league. He had a cocky smirk back then too, but he never had a proper plan behind it. But this Ash was _confident._

"I have the best opponent for your Gengar," Ash said, "Pikachu, I choose you!"

The electric rodent jumped into the field, glaring at Gengar. "Pika Pika," the Pokémon's cheeks sparked with electricity.

Well at least Pikachu was confident.

"A dark-type like Scrafty or Krookodile would be better," Ash's father criticized. "But I can understand his choice. Using your most reliable Pokémon would sometimes be better than a type-advantage."

Everyone had good expectations about Ash, but Misty was skeptical. Granted he has gotten better since three years, but could they actually beat Agatha's Gengar?

Only time would tell, she thought.

* * *

Gengar versus Pikachu.

I could have chosen a dark type like Krookodile, but my little buddy has a special move to stop Gengar. It's better than any type advantage.

"Let's beat her," I said to my number one partner.

"Pika," he turned back and growled confidently. Either of us _knew_ we can win. Defeating an Elite Four was difficult, but we have a strategy to beat Agatha.

Gengar was grinning at us. He was confident that he's stronger, which can also be seen in his trainer. Let's see how long the grin will stay on your face.

"You get the first call," Agatha said.

Good. In that case,

With the excitement pumping all over my body I announced my first move. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

My little friend shared my excitement, and charged his cheeks up with electricity.

"Shadow Ball," Agatha replied.

Pikachu let out his signature streak of electricity through his cheeks. The lightning shot towards Gengar at unbelievable speed.

Countering Pikachu's move, Gengar prepared its own signature move, Shadow ball and pitched it at the incoming thunderbolt.

The electricity and the ghost energy struck each other in midair. The piercing electricity and the sphere of energy collided with each other, in an attempt to overpower each other.

The electricity split open like a water stream and enveloped the sphere. The enveloped electricity reacted with the shadow ball and exploded with a bang.

The smoke blew across my face, partially covering my vision.

Pikachu stood stiffened, anxious as for what move the opponent would make.

And then, a blur of shadow appeared behind Pikachu.

"Pikachu, behind you!"

The yellow monster turned around, as Gengar gave it a spooky glare.

"Shadow Ball," Agatha commanded just in time.

Instantly Gengar shaped a sphere of energy and prepared to toss onto Pikachu.

"Jump!" I commanded immediately.

With flexible movements only possible to him, the little guy leapt past the shadow ball and was now above Gengar.

"Iron Tail!"

Spinning in the air, Pikachu prepared its powerful steel type attack and prepared to ram onto Gengar's face.

Agatha replied calmly, "Dodge."

As the powerful Iron Tail was swung like a baseball bat on Gengar, the Pokémon zoomed its way out of Pikachu's range.

Pikachu's body twisted in midair and landed on its feet after performing a full 360 degree spin.

The purple ghost found its way high up in the air within no time. As Pikachu glared at him, he grinned deviously.

"It's fast," I muttered.

"Of course it is," Agatha tapped the wooden stick against the ground. "This is my strongest Gengar after all, unlike the one you fought two years ago."

Strongest Gengar? So she was going all out on me? A happy smile crept across my face, "Interesting," I said. "Then we'll definitely have to win this."

"You talk pretty well," she was smiling. I could see the flare of excitement in her eyes.

"I can battle pretty well too," I replied.

"Let's see," she tapped her stick once more. "Show your speed, and use repeated Shadow ball!"

Show his speed? I glared at Gengar.

The floating Pokémon zoomed from its position at once, and appeared somewhere else in the air, and zoomed again to another position.

She was trying to confuse me with Gengar's speed.

And it was working. Pikachu was startled by Gengar's speedy movements, and kept bobbing his head to keep watch on Gengar. He was beginning to lose track, his face told me.

"Calm down, Pikachu!" I told him.

Having confused the opponent enough, Gengar prepared a Shadow Ball as it continued to dart from place to place.

It's impossible for Pikachu to keep up with Gengar's movements and dodge Shadow Ball at the same time. In that case—

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge!"

Having understood my idea, the rodent dashed at super-human speed, just as a ball landed where it once stood and exploded.

The second Shadow Ball struck as Pikachu sprinted towards where Gengar was. But he hopped reflexively, and shifted his direction to match the moving target, Gengar.

If Gengar was super-fast in the air, so was my Pikachu on the ground.

After a third Shadow Ball missed, "Speed versus speed, huh," Agatha commented.

"The best defense is the best offense," I said my favorite line.

Pikachu finally caught up with Gengar as the Pokémon briefly paused at some point.

"Jump and use Iron Tail!"

Using the momentum from Quick Attack, Pikachu dashed into the air like a rocket, straight at the ceiling where Gengar floated.

It spun in the air with the same momentum, but Gengar bent backwards just in time, dodging the powerful attack aimed at its face.

"Electro Ball," I commanded.

"Shadow Ball," Agatha replied soon.

As Pikachu completed a full swing with Iron Tail, the steel type move was replaced by the electric ball. Pikachu performed one more flip in its momentum and tossed the ball.

Gengar, who was in an awkward posture while dodging the Iron Tail, pushed itself towards the ground while facing Pikachu and maintaining its back to the ground. It prepared a Shadow Ball and tossed at the incoming Electro ball.

The two spheres struck each other and exploded immediately.

Forced by gravity, Pikachu landed on the ground while Gengar turned down to face the opponent.

* * *

"He's doing great," May cheered. This was the second time she was seeing Ash battle an Elite Four. The same can't be said for the rest of them watching the battle.

Iris began, "He's doing good but—"

"He's struggling to keep up," Alex completed. "Pikachu's fast but Gengar has the superiority. It's an advantage all ghost types have."

"Which is why most trainers put at least one ghost type in their teams," Gary added. "The advantage's unfair. Even a flying type won't be able to match a floating ghost."

"Then why is Ash still having that stupid smile on his face," Misty asked.

"He's got something it seems," Scott said, "I can't keep my excitement anymore. I wish he could show whatever he's hiding."

"You have a fine expression on your face," Agatha said. "But let's see if you can keep up with _this._"

That wasn't good, May realized. Agatha had more up her sleeve.

"Gengar," she tapped the stick again. It seems to be a habit of her, but it was turning annoying. "Double Team!"

The ghostly Gengar split itself into multiple images. Multiple copies of the Gengar surrounded the panicking electric type.

"What do you say, Ash?" She asked, the boy.

The smirk on Ash's face didn't drop, not even one bit. "I have a move just for this," he said, pumping either fist into the air at the same time. "Double Thunderbolt!"

"They perfected it?!" May exclaimed.

The rodent's cheeks once more charged with power, and at once two powerful streaks of bolt erupted and struck two of the images in two different directions.

"Once more," Ash exclaimed.

Pikachu repeated the same, this time taking two more copies. There were only four more left.

"Shadow Ball!" Agatha exclaimed.

The Double Thunderbolt hit its mark once more removing two more Gengar from the scene, but the remaining two prepared a Shadow ball and tossed it at Pikachu.

"Use Double thunderbolt on the shadow ball!"

One of the thunderbolt shot through the duplicate Shadow Ball and Gengar and passed into thin air. The second struck Shadow Ball, exploding with a smoke once again. But that wasn't it.

The scene was a repeat. Gengar used the smoke to its disadvantage and appeared behind Pikachu.

"Pikachu, behind you!" Ash warned.

But Gengar has already prepared its attack. The Pokémon was smart enough to expect Agatha's move and use it on its own.

Pikachu was startled when Gengar was behind it, with a raised arm to launch Shadow Ball at a dangerously close range.

"Oh, no!" May closed her mouth with her hands. Just at that moment—

Ash Ketchum wasn't just as startled. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Gengar!"

There was a simultaneous exclaim from all of them who watched them battle.

The rodent propelled itself towards the Gengar, whose arm was lifted to strike the Shadow Ball on its face.

The normal type move passed through the Ghost like it was thin air. The next instant Pikachu found itself in the air, away from harm, and Gengar found its Shadow Ball exploding against the ground.

"Iron Tail!" Ash didn't waste a millisecond. It's like he imaged the event in advance.

The rodent twisted its body and slammed the attack on Gengar's back. The heavy attack threw the gas Pokémon onto the ground. The Pokémon smashed against the surface with a 'thud' and was bounced right back like a ball.

"He did it!" Misty was off her seat.

Ash's frenzy of attacks didn't end. As Gengar bounced back in pain, Ash commanded one more time. 'Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

The rodent landed on the ground and aimed the attack.

Agatha responded fast, "Dodge!"

The Gengar snapped out of pain by the trainer's sharp command. With its super speed, it zoomed away from the attack just in time. The thunderbolt was sent to the ceiling instead.

"Dammit," Ash cursed, "We were close."

The Gengar was out of breath, but so was Pikachu. Pikachu had the upper hand thanks to the damage done by Iron Tail.

"Excellent work, Ash," Agatha complemented. "But let's see how you'll handle this. Gengar Double Team."

It was the same attack again. It didn't do much good the last time, May noted.

"Time to mix your speed," Agatha announced.

That was when it began. All eight copies of Gengar began the same swift movement that Gengar had been showing till then. The eight images darted from one place to the other at a speed incomprehensible to anyone's eye. Soon the battle field was filled with Gengar's running rampant. The Pokémon began teasing the frightened Pikachu.

"What the heck?" Was Ash's reaction.

She had seen Double Team many times, and some of her Pokémon knew the move. But none of them were quite as unique as this one.

* * *

Impossible.

I can't understand what was going on. It was like a thousand Gengar were playing around.

"Pika," Pikachu yelped helplessly, unable to understand what's going on.

"What will you do, Ash?" Agatha demanded. So she thinks I'm cornered?

It's true. Nothing can beat something like this. It was an amazing show.

"I can toy with you for a while, but I'll finish this for once," Agatha declared. "Hypnosis!"

Of course she thinks I am cornered. She thinks I would lose for something like this.

But, there was a reason why I believe the best defense is the best offense.

* * *

Trouble was everywhere. Ash was extremely cornered. Misty doesn't know if her Pokémon could handle anything like _this._

"Hypnosis!" Agatha commanded.

"Dammit, that's Agatha's signature move," Ash's father exclaimed. "This is over," he caught his head.

But the smirk on Ash's face grew wider with the moment. What the heck was that idiot doing?

Ash moved into action, "Pikachu, use thunderbolt and spin!"

What happened next was amazing. Something that Misty least expected. Something she never saw in her entire life.

As Gengar prepared to approach Pikachu and use the dangerous Hypnosis on Pikachu, the rodent started spinning about itself on the ground, and sent a thunderbolt. The resulting movement was wonderful.

Tens of streaks of electricity rose into the air. The Gengar that moved at an extreme speed halted in response to the attack.

As it prepared to dodge one thunderbolt, a second one came from behind and struck it. This Gengar, being an image disappeared. Within a few seconds, the next six Gengar followed suit, leaving a single and real Gengar. But before the Gengar could do anything in response, the thunderbolt caught up with it. The Pokémon attempted to move away, but ended up trapped in a spiral of thunderbolts.

The damage from the first thunderbolt forced it to collide with a second, and then the third and so on. The same Gengar that was annoying Pikachu a minute ago has now ended up in a sea of trouble.

The Thunderbolts were like whips lashing Gengar from one place to the other. The superiority its floating ability showed was no longer a boon, but a curse. Ash Ketchum made sure of that.

This was—"Incredible," Misty muttered, as she watched the scene like it was fireworks.

"Why don't I know anything about this?" Mr. Ketchum exclaimed.

"I think I have seen Dawn using something similar," May said.

"This is just too much," Gary clenched his fists seeing his rival's Pikachu handle Agatha's Gengar like it was nothing. "Even by Ash's standards."

Agatha put on an annoyed expression. She was perhaps figuring out a way to come out of the trap.

"There's no way your Gengar can dodge this attack," Ash removed any traces of her hope to escape. "This is a special move to handle floating Pokémon like your Gengar." Ash enjoyed his situation, "I call this, the Counter Shield!"

"That's it!" May exclaimed. "It's the same move Dawn used."

"I do remember her using this against Cilan's Pansage," Iris reminisced of the events half a year ago.

* * *

"It's a trick I have developed to beat a Ghost type Gym Leader in Sinnoh," I said. Counter shield was born during my attempts to beat Fantina and her Hypnosis. If I managed to beat her I don't think I could lose to Agatha if we battle the same way.

Pikachu's spinning movements stopped, leaving a severely electrocuted Gengar in the air. The damage done was pretty good. I got her by surprise after all.

Gengar gritted with the pain. The floating figure slowly descended to the ground and stopped just before landing. With gritted teeth, and a mean look of revenge, it glared at Pikachu with the strange red eyes it possessed.

"You did us some good damage," Agatha was frowning. She was expecting another easy win on me. Granted I lost pretty fast despite putting a good fight the first, but that doesn't mean you can win so easily the second time too.

"There's more from where it came from," I challenged her. In fact that was my last surprise, I think. She doesn't need to know that though.

"I can say the same," she said. "You must have noticed that I am increasing the difficulty step by step, right?"

That was correct. Firstly, she started with head on attacks. Then she started using Gengar's speed, it was Double Team after that, and a fast moving Double Team right next. So there was more?

"From now you'll see the difference between a Gym Leader and an Elite Four," she said. "But congratulations for forcing me to do this. You've come a long way in just two years.

What you are about to see now is not a move, but rather it's Gengar's ability as a ghost. It's something one could understand if they truly spend time with their Pokémon." She narrowed her eyes, she was serious. "Gengar, now show what a real ghost can do."

Gengar grinned at us, and—

Disappeared into thin air.

"What the!"

How did it do that? Where did it go? I checked each and every corner of the gym. How could it just disappear?

"Pikachu, try to sense Gengar," I said to the Pokémon. Pikachu wobbled its sensitive ears, hoping for any noise. Pikachu's ears were extremely sensitive, even a simple shift in the air won't be unnoticed. But nothing happened.

"As silent as a ghost they say," Agatha smirked. And then—

Gengar appeared right behind Pikachu. Sensing Gengar behind it, Pikachu jumped forward and—

My body's reflexive actions pumped energy into mouth immediately, "Pikachu, Electro ball!"

—Spun around to use an Electro ball. But Gengar leapt above the attack, dodging the attack with relative ease.

"Shadow Ball!" Agatha cried. Gengar created the sphere immediately and prepared to toss it.

"Use Iron Tail to deflect it back!"

Pikachu back flipped once more, and used Iron Tail on the incoming Shadow Ball. The attack was hit back like a tennis ball towards Gengar. The panicked Ghost, ducked just in time, and grinned once realizing it was safe.

"It keeps dodging them," I muttered. It's too fast, even for Pikachu's electric attacks.

"Gengar, now." Agatha said.

Once more Gengar vanished into thin air like a true Ghost. Normally, a Psychic type attack would expose Gengar's location, but that wasn't an option now.

There was still something we could do though. We just have to do our favorite move. "Pikachu," I exclaimed. "Use double thunderbolt everywhere!"

Having realized my command, Pikachu performed the newly perfected Thunderbolt on the field creating two simultaneous explosions. Immediately two more followed, raising another layer of dust.

Soon, the whole field was engulfed in dust. The dust will give away Gengar's location, and give me a win.

I got her.

Her Gengar might have exceptionally good hiding abilities, but it won't work against us now.

"Pikachu, look out for Gengar," I warned.

Somewhere in the dust, a silhouette moved. It didn't escape Pikachu's eyes. "Pikapi," Pikachu informed me of its finding.

"Good, now use Thunderbolt!"

The jolt of electricity was aimed at Gengar. Agatha won't even know what hit her. I won this match.

The electricity struck the silhouette just as I planned and—

Ended up passing through thin air.

"Dammit," I realized what happened.

"Hypnosis!"

It was too late.

Gengar appeared before Pikachu immediately. Before I could retort, the Pokémon emitted psionic waves into Pikachu's eyes.

What I feared finally happened. We were caught off guard by Gengar's double team. But when did she command Gengar? I'm pretty sure I could have listened to it.

But that wasn't important now. What's more important was waking Pikachu.

"Pikachu, get up!" I pleaded the rodent, but it lies down unresponsive. "Get up, Pikachu!"

My requests fell on deaf ears. Pikachu continued to have the sweet little nap. "Keep using Shadow Ball."

I watched in awe as Gengar rose up into the air and created Shadow ball with either arms. The attack was sent one after the other like a barrage. Once the two attacks were sent, two more came; soon it turned into a rain of Shadow Ball.

"Pikachu!" I cried for my helpless Pokémon.

The first shadow ball struck the ground throwing him out into the air, the next one missed, but the third and fourth struck, and then the next five were blindly thrown at Pikachu. I lost count as for how many hit Pikachu as the dust from the attack's explosions rose.

"Pikachu!"

Agatha was relentless. Right after the barrage of Shadow Ball, she continued, "Focus Blast!" She called out her final move.

Gengar prepared its final move, but the rodent remained unresponsive.

"Pikachu!" I scream for the last time.

* * *

"That's the end of a great battle, eh?" Scott said as the group gathered at the battle field.

"I lost," Ash sighed, "I guess have a long way to go."

Scott was always amused by the kid. No matter how much of those amazing stuff he does, he's always humble.

"That's correct in a sense but," Agatha was smiling for some reason, "You forced me to use two of my three main battle tactics. So I say you were pretty close."

"True Ghost and Clairvoyance, right?" Scott asked. Those were two of Agatha's three main tactics.

"Yes," Alex replied. "I am amazed you forced that much out of her. Why the heck do you always exceed my expectations!" He exclaimed at his son. Scott couldn't understand if Alex was mad or happy. It was mostly the latter, considering his son gave Agatha a tough time. This kid will go pretty far in the tournament. If his predictions were correct, he would reach Tier 4 at his current state. That's quite a feat for a fifteen year old.

"What's Clairvoyance?" Misty asked.

"The ability to speak with her Pokémon telepathically," Scott explained. "Agatha uses it only against extremely good challengers. You've gotten pretty good since Brandon."

"Thanks," Ash scratched his hair.

"Does everyone in the Elite Four have fancy moves like this?" Iris asked.

"Iris, don't be so rude," Misty hissed.

"No," Agatha laughed. "Only I do as far as I know."

Agatha's battle experience far exceeds most others. Many young hotshot trainers like Cynthia, Steven may have replaced her, but none of them can put up battles with varying depths of difficulty like her.

"Since you've done an excellent job Ash, I will give you a gift. It's not a gym badge though," Agatha turned to him. "Scott, can you give these two my passes?"

"Wait!" Alex, who certainly knew what the passes were for, was startled. "You are giving us your visitor passes?"

"For what?" Ash asked.

"For the Elite battlers Conference, you idiot!" Alex smacked the boy on his head. "Didn't you read the important dates sheet in the brochure?"

"Don't you do that boring stuff anyway," Iris pointed out, which caused Alex to fume at her.

"October 25," Scott interrupted before they got carried away. "The Elite Four and Champions of all five regions will collect at the Seafoam Island for the Elite Battlers Conference. Every member gets to choose two people as their guests. They won't be battling though. It's a high profile party."

"And you're inviting me!" Ash exclaimed. "Dad did you hear that?"

"I did," Alex was on the verge of crying. "We're going to see all of them on one stage!"

The father and son ended up hugging each other, crying in each other's arms.

"Why them?" Scott asked. There were many others Agatha could invite. Her grandchildren or her sponsors would have done well.

"I simply like passionate men," she chuckled. Scott knew the real reason. She wants Alex to stop from pursuing Giovanni. This was more like a diversion to his mind. The poor guy suffered enough already.

"So you're going to see the elite four and champions, huh," Gary spoke, "I'm kinda jealous, Ash."

"Why would you be," Scott smiled, "The Professors from all regions are invited too. You can ask your grandfather to get you an invite." He turned to Misty, May and Iris, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you girls though."

"It's fine," Misty said, "Besides we get to see them in the championship right?"

"Dad, can you actually believe that?!" Ash was still in a trance.

"It's a dream come true son," Alex was in a similar state.

"I'll be in Hoenn by tonight, and Iris needs to be in Unova too," May added.

"Thanks for understanding," Scott commended them. "Best of luck for the tournament. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Will you two stop acting like five year olds!" Iris yelled at the father and son.

* * *

"Wish Max a happy birthday from my side," I said as we bid farewell to May at the Viridian Port. "Tell him to go on time, or he's going to miss his starter."

"Ashy-boy sure knows that," Gary said as if to mock me. "What will he be choosing?"

"Not sure," she said, "He was fascinated with Ash's Sceptile though. I think it's going to be a Treecko."

"I'll call on 7th then," I said. It's interesting to know what Max would choose as his starter.

May nodded. "Thanks for the date, Gary." She told him.

"Hey you needn't thank for something like that," he brushed his hair when he did so. Man he sure knows how to charm girls. I guess my dad would prefer him over me as a son. "I had fun too."

"Your wallet didn't," Iris jibed.

May blushed at this, "Stop peeping on dates, will you?"

"Give me a break," Iris shrugged. "Ten year olds could have done better than the two of you!"

What's with these people and dates? All they do is go to a movie together, or a restaurant, or some kind of expensive place and on a lucky night they get to play 'Mom' and 'Dad'. What does that mean anyway? I asked Dad to elaborate but Mom nearly killed him when he was about to say something, yesterday.

"I'd prefer a battle over a date anytime," I told them. Everybody looked at me like I was some abandoned Growlithe that needed to be pitied upon.

"Your opinions are disturbing," Misty said.

"Do you really like to play 'Mom' and 'Dad' so much?" I asked, wondering why my opinion was disturbing.

"Ash KETCHUM!" Misty's face turned red. That wasn't a good sign.

"Hi, Mom!" Iris teased her. "What's for dinner today?"

"I swear to god," Misty came up to me rolling her sleeves up. "I'm going to kill you."

That evening I was chased throughout the Viridian Port. I still don't understand why she's so mad, but I valued my life, so I didn't stop.

After that, we parted at Viridian City. Misty and Iris left to Cerulean City. Gary returned back to Pallet. Both I and Dad took the path through the Viridian Forest.

No sooner did we enter into the forests, a sudden downpour disturbed us. It was strange because it wasn't rainy season.

I realized the clouds were darker than usual.

Tearing the clouds apart, a yellow lightning cackled. The source of that lightning, to our surprise was moving.

"It's Zapdos!" I yelled, as I made out the silhouette of the Pokémon amongst the clouds.

"Freaking yes!" Dad exclaimed. The two of us stopped despite the downpour and watched the legendary Pokémon pass by. It was a great sight.

"Geoooot!"

A distant cry brought us to attention. "Something's in trouble," I said to my dad.

"Let's go," he said without hesitating for a second.

The two of us and Pikachu dashed to what was the source of the cry. As we made it to a clearing, I noticed that a huge number of Pokémon were collected at a particular spot.

We went closer. I realized it was a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto. They were all surrounding something larger that lay on the ground.

My heart suddenly began to beat faster. Could it be?

The Pidgeotto and Pidgey moved away as we approached the scene.

Lying on the ground, with its golden wings burnt was a—

I exclaimed, "Pidgeot!"

**Next Chapter: Poachers in Viridian! Pidgeot vs. Zapdos!**

**A/N: Some of you might be wondering if I'm going to do 365 chapters for the 365 days before the world league. No!**

**The story will jump dates after the next one. The world league isn't much far away. Only a couple of chapters, there will be a time skip after that. **

**Although this is Ash-centric, I try to focus on other characters. You'll see the focus shifting on many characters like Cynthia, Paul, Wallace etc. I am trying to flesh out each of the anime's character and give them a different and unique personality. So they might seem a bit OOC. But I assure you, Ash of all will never be OOC.**

**So two question for you guys:**

**Which Anime character would you like to appear in the league. You can skip Paul, Barry, Harrison, Tyson and all other League Rivals for an answer. Tell me if there's someone else you like to appear. If not a proper chapter, I could give them a good paragraph or two, or better face him against Ash.**

**Which Pokémon would you like to feature in the League? I am not talking about Ash's Pokémon; I am talking about other characters' Pokémon. **

**Thank you for reading. Do review it.**


	7. Fighting Zapdos

**Before I start.**

**HAPPY NEWYEAR EVERYONE!**

**Unfortunately it's still October 5****th**** in the story.**

**7. Fighting Zapdos**

That night, the moon decided to take a rest, and so did the uncountable number of stars.

The clouds draped the dark sky, making it darker. The leaves hung down, as if in shame, as the rain pulled them down. The soil was damp, puddles of water formed everywhere. Pokémon hid themselves inside the tree hollows, or under the shade of the thick branches.

The sky rumbled, a blue lightning flashed the darkness for a second. The bird Pokémon scattered away in fear, but returned back as soon as the sense of danger seemed to pass away. They simply couldn't fly away because one of their kind was suffering.

The Pidgey and Pidgeotto that watched the scene with timid eyes were perched around the clearing, some on the branches of the trees, while a few brave on the grass, from where they were closer to their leader.

Two humans, men whom they normally fear, were tending to the leader. The downpour continued, but they didn't budge. When they finally did, they hoisted the leader on their backs and carried him somewhere.

The Pidgey and Pidgeotto couldn't know what was going on, but they decided to trust them and followed the men, towards their civilization.

* * *

**October 5**

**Countdown 361:18:03:59**

"Ash?"

A soft tap on my shoulders woke me up.

I opened my eyes, only to set my sights on a familiar Bird Pokémon behind the glass window that separated the room in which the Pokémon lay, and the lobby where I dozed off.

"Man," the headache returns. I had only two hours of sleep yesterday, so I needed to sleep a bit more today, but it seems my dad didn't have the same idea.

"What time, is it?" I asked, noticing that the sky outside was still dim.

The lobby was empty, except for me and dad. We could have taken a room upstairs, but I decided to keep an eye on Pidgeot. I wasn't sure at first, but Pikachu confirmed it for me last night.

"Almost six," Dad informed in a mellow voice. Yelling in a Pokémon center happens to be a bad idea, especially in the mornings.

I looked at the Pidgeot, _my_ Pidgeot, sleeping peacefully. His wings were burned last night, but he seems to be okay now. The Nurse told he would need a twelve hour rest, so I guess we need to wait a couple of hours. For now, I think it's better to leave him alone.

"Last night," Dad said, as I washed my face in the center's washroom. He stood behind me, as I saw through the reflection in the mirror. He was way too taller than I was, and his muscles were perfectly built. I looked more like a Pikachu in front of a Raichu. Speaking of which, where's my little guy?

"Yeah, last night?" I sensed he was hesitating to ask something.

"The way you reacted to the Pidgeot's condition," he stared straight into my eyes. "It was as if it's your own Pokémon."

"I didn't tell you last night?" I wiped my face with the towel he handed, and said casually, "That's my Pidgeot; I left him for a while in the wild. It's kinda weird to meet him like this after all these days."

Wiping my face clean, I handed the towel back to him. But for some reason my dad didn't extend his arms to take it. I looked at his face and met up with an expression that was almost colorless.

"Dad?" A sense of doom suddenly prevailed through my mind.

A few minutes later.

"Oww," my head hurts. Not because of the headache caused by sleep deprivation, but thanks to the knuckles of a certain man who somehow became my dad.

"When were you planning to tell me all this?" He scolded, as we headed out of the Pokémon Center for my morning training session.

"I'm sorry, I thought I could call them back before the League," I gave him a vague reply. The truth was, I hardly thought of anything in that angle.

"Are you an idiot?" A fist, as hard as an iron bar struck my head. The impact was good enough to give me a concussion. But as it was the second one, I stood somehow. "Your Pokémon might be strong, but you can't do anything if you're out of sync."

"I get it," I sighed, rubbing my sore head. "I told you, I'll call them all once I rotate the Pokémon I have on my hand."

"You better would," he sent me a glare that sent a chill down my spine. "You don't want me to do it, do you?"

"No," I muttered weakly.

* * *

Rosenburg.

A city that was once a mere village, a city that was said to be the heart of maniacs who trained years and years just for the champion's league, a city where the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia was currently in, sitting in the courtyard of her costly villa, having a chat with a man whose beard was as long as her hair, and white enough to outrank Santa Claus.

"The report on Tobias has come," The old man Goodsho, handed the blonde woman a file.

The blonde woman took up the blue file, and flipped the page with her slender fingers, studying it seriously with her light gray eyes.

"Hmm," she raised an eyebrow, in surprise.

"He's clean," Goodsho muttered as she went through the pages. "All those catches were legitimate. He's quite a person."

Cynthia put the file back onto the table. "I should have battled him by now," she muttered. "I am glad I didn't before the ten years ended. If I were to lose…"

"Is he that good?" Goodsho asked, "He barely beat Flint, and you had Flint down by 3-0."

"It's true but," she pointed to the file, "His sixth Pokémon. No one managed to scratch it, let alone defeat it. What if it's strong enough to beat all my three and close the gap between us?"

"No Pokémon can be _that_ strong, Cynthia," Goodsho smiled. "You're being paranoid," the old man laughed.

_'Am I?'_ Cynthia asked herself. She didn't know the answer.

* * *

"Tauros, Fire Blast!"

The wild bull flared its nostrils, exhaling the air out as it rubbed its hooves against the ground. Normally, it was an ordinary movement for a Tauros, but the air it exerted out had actually transformed into flames that extended in five directions from the origin.

With all the power in its lungs, it pushed the fire blast forward at the target in front.

The flames scorched the ground as they shot for the target at a distance.

"Buizel, Water Pulse!"

The weasel Pokémon that possessed an orange fur prepared the ball of energy in its hands, and tossed it at the approaching flames.

The flames surprisingly gave a harder fight, and consumed the water, as steam slowly enveloped the field.

The flames, however, were finally extinguished, and the sphere proceeded to strike Tauros straight on the head. The Pokémon took the attack that was more like a tennis ball.

It shook its head, and mooed at Buizel, as if to say the attack did nothing. The damage was mostly nullified.

"Awesome job!" I exclaimed as I lunged towards Tauros, pulling ourselves in a hug. "You mastered it in no time!"

It was really a wonderful feat. Fire Blast wasn't an easy move to master, even for fire-types. But Dad did say something about compatibility. Tauros continuously generates heat inside its body and that makes it easier to use Fire Blast. It's really complicated, but I kinda managed to figure something out of that.

"Now Tauros can actually have realistic chances against that Torterra of Paul's," Dad sat by the bench under the tree, watching us train.

Yeah, but that's just not it. It also happens to work in tough situations where Tauros's usual battle style of attacking head on fails.

"Now," he said getting up. "Let's move onto Unefezant."

Unefezant chirped as she landed before me. "It's quite enthusiastic," Dad smiled watching the bird Pokémon's eagerness. "Now," he said turning to me, "The first and foremost thing," he emphasized. "I would like to—"

"Ash," a voice interrupted Dad. It was the Nurse, standing by the large door connecting the Center and the field. There was an uncomfortable expression on her face, as she seemed to hold the door with difficulty. Both Dad and I threw her inquisitive looks. The Nurse laughed nervously, "Someone's too eager to see—"

Her words were cut short when the nurse in pink was pushed away, as the door paved open, and a giant creature lunged at me.

"Yeoww," I yelled in surprise, as the large Pokémon knocked me with ease, and started smothering with what seemed like a hug with its feathery wings. The feathers tickled, causing me to laugh. "Hey Pidgeot," I chortled, "It's great seeing you too."

"Pidgeooot," he rubbed his mane against my face and chirped happily.

"I love you too," I said pushing him, to give myself some air. Dusting my pants, I rose up, "It's been too long buddy. Way too long," I said brushing his head. Pidgeot's head was really smooth.

"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu cooed in agreement. Pidgeot turned to Pikachu and chirped a greeting. He then looked around, noticing that there were more Pokémon around.

"Meet my new friends," I began introducing. "I've caught them from many regions." I pointed at the two Pokémon resting beside the bench where Dad was earlier. "Boldore, Gible." I moved onto the ones on the battlefield with me. "Buizel and I guess you know Tauros a bit. And finally—"

Before I could complete my statement, Pidgeot walked up to Unefezant. He's perhaps interested in a fellow bird Pokémon. "That's Unefezant," I said.

Pidgeot chirped something to Unefezant with a smile. I thought they were exchanging some pleasantries but—

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed for something I couldn't understand. At the same point Unefezant put an expression indicating a surprise as well. Then something unexpected happened which surprised me too.

Unefezant lifted her right wing and smacked right on Pidgeot's face. She then flew away as Pidgeot watched her with open jaws—or should I say beak?

"What the heck happened?" I asked, befuddled.

For some reason Dad laughed, "Your Pidgeot wants to play boyfriend with your Unefezant."

That's—

Oh man. I'm not really good at this stuff, but he just got rejected. Pidgeot hung his head down in disappointment. What should I be saying at times like this?

"You're too brave to put out things like that," Dad commended Pidgeot. "But you need to learn how to handle chicks," Pidgeot nodded weakly and looked at the distant branch on which Unefezant perched, a frown on her face. "Love at first sight, huh," Dad muttered, as if it were something magical.

"What do we do now?" I asked, unsure if I would be allowed to spend some time with Pidgeot.

"Well," Dad said, "I guess it's only fair to—" His words were stopped when a small trickle of a raindrop ran down his face.

The rumblings in the skies returned, the day turned dimmer, and the black clouds enveloped the blue morning sky, all of a sudden.

The sky rumbled once more, as the droplets began to intensify. Soon it was raining cats and dogs. I immediately took Gible and Boldore into the Pokéball. I proceeded to do the same for Tauros. Buizel would prefer outside so—

"Hey Unefezant," I said lifting its Pokéball, signaling her to return.

"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot glared at me for that.

"Pikapi," Pikachu tugged my legs.

"Ash," My Dad shook his head as if I were a hopeless case. "You really don't get it do you?"

Huh? The only thing I am getting was, "We're gonna be drenched." Cold wasn't something I liked, or as a matter of fact, anyone.

"Idiot!" He smacked me. "Trivial things like rain shouldn't stop love." So that's what all this was about?

"Alright," I accepted. "Unefezant will stay outside for some time." For some reason, Unefezant threw me a disapproving look from a distance.

But then—

Out of blue, a powerful yellow lightning struck the ground near us. The sudden explosion on the ground threw us all away.

I felt the hard surface of the field hit my back. It wasn't a major injury. I pulled myself up, staring at the sky, which seemed to be the source. "What the heck happened?"

Instantly the flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto that have been hiding in the trees came out chirping simultaneously creating a minor uproar.

Pidgeot growled and glared at the sky in anger. Something was odd, and Pidgeot seems to have an idea about it. "What's going on, Pidgeot?"

Pidgeot cried once more and lunged into the sky. In a whiff, it was beyond our eyesight.

"Pidgeot!" I yelled, attempting to stop the Pokémon.

"Something's wrong, Ash," Dad said, a serious frown on his face.

"It's that Zapdos," the Nurse who was standing behind us replied. Her face showed that she was deeply worried, "Those poachers have injured it. It's been attacking the Viridian forest since three days."

Fear swept through Dad's eyes. "Ash, if it's a Zapdos…" He gave me a warning look. "Your Pidgeot may get far worse treatment than yesterday."

I should've guessed it. Pidgeot's injuries were obviously because of the Zapdos.

"Leave it to me," I said. "Unefezant," I called out the bird Pokémon that seemed to be alerted by the powerful lightning as well. I then turned to Pikachu and said, "Buddy go and help Pidgeot with the fight."

Pikachu hopped onto Unefezant, and together they followed the same direction Pidgeot took off.

"There's something important I want to say," Nurse Joy said as both Dad and I decided to follow them on the road. "These poachers are still in Viridian. Zapdos could mistake you with them. You better be careful."

"Listen to her, Ash," Dad cut me off before I could say anything. He knows what's in my mind. "We must approach it with caution."

I nodded, "Buizel," I told the water type. "Let's go." The Pokémon nodded at this.

* * *

Up in the air, a Pokémon was rocketing into the sky at a supersonic speed. It was Pidgeot's quick attack.

The legendary Zapdos was in the sky, at a distance, unaware of anything and continued to thunderbolt everything that it set its eyes on and deemed to be dangerous.

The legendary Pokémon only took a last second glance, as the super-fast attack zoomed past it, not failing to smack Zapdos in the process.

Pidgeot let out a threatening cry as it stood face to face with an intimidating Zapdos that was larger than the big sized Pidgeot.

Zapdos roared in response, and aimed a thunderbolt on Pidgeot. But the bird Pokémon ducked to the side. The hostilities between the Pokémon grew with that exchange, and Pidgeot immediately dashed at Zapdos, this time striking on its chest.

However its previous experience from the day before taught Pidgeot not to stay close. It immediately took a turn and flew back to go back to a safe distance.

The furious Zapdos, grew even angrier by the hit and run tactic. The Pokémon's pointy feathers flashed with electricity, and a powerful Multiple Thunderbolt was launched at once.

Noticing the approaching danger, the Pidgeot raised its speed, and continued the Quick Attack, this time to retreat. It was a futile attempt to 'run away' from a lightning, having realized this in less than a second, Pidgeot threw itself towards the ground, effectively dodging the attack while facing upwards and then took an immediate U-Turn in the air and leveled itself with Zapdos once again.

Once they were in level, Pidgeot flapped its wings once, raising a small wind, but the Pokémon repeated the motion, the vigorousness in the flaps grew pretty quickly, and proportionately the small wind slowly grew into a turbulent wind and then finally transformed into a midair Hurricane.

The six foot legendary had to use its wings to brace itself from the incoming attack, which was only powered up by the rain. The hurricane proved harsh to the electric type, and threw it off balance.

Crying with victory, Pidgeot took a dive and dashed for Zapdos with yet another Quick Attack.

The Pokémon however pulled itself straight up just as Pidgeot shot towards it and dodged the attack by pushing itself up and immediately used the chance to catch the Pidgeot that zoomed past it, with enormous talons that could lift a truck, if needed.

It then kicked Pidgeot into a distance, and prepared to strike the departing Pokémon with a powerful and a single Thunder.

The lightning moved down like a missile launched from the air, except with incredible speed. The attack would have put Pidgeot out of order, if it had hit. It didn't.

A certain yellow rodent dropped in the path of the attack, just in time. The dynamic power of the attack pushed the rodent back, but it had completely absorbed the electricity before doing so. Unefezant caught the rodent just in time.

Noticing the new threat, the enraged Zapdos prepared another Multiple Thunderbolt. Seven thunderbolts shot for the duo; however the female bird was more than skilled enough to dodge the aerial attacks with ease.

Emerging through the line of thunderbolts, Unefezant propped itself above Zapdos, but the legendary bird, with speed unexpected from such a giant, followed her up and appeared right before Unefezant, startling the bird Pokémon.

Having the smaller bird at point blank, Zapdos charged for another Thunder, as Unefezant pushed itself back in fear.

Sensing the danger, Pikachu jumped forward, placing itself between Unefezant and Zapdos in the air, and performed a power-upped Thunderbolt, power-upped by taking Zapdos's Thunder earlier.

The two attacks collided in midair, causing an instantaneous explosion.

Before the smoke could clear, Unefezant dove for catching Pikachu falling down after the attack.

Much to the bird's surprise, the monstrous legendary, whether it was sheer coincidence, or quick thinking dove down at the same time and put itself on level with Unefezant.

The blackbird panicked, unable to decide what to do. Pikachu was in danger, but so was she. Using the momentary dilemma, Zapdos prepared a thunderbolt to strike the bird but—

Like the hero he wanted to be, like the cool guy who comes in the last minute and save the day, Pidgeot rocketed towards Zapdos, and struck the bird with a Quick Attack. Then, he took a steep turn and dove down again and caught the falling Pikachu. Completing this heroic feat, he turned to Unefezant and gave her a small cheeky smile that a bird could muster.

Unefezant however pretended not to notice, but her eyes didn't carry the same hostility. Pidgeot realized he might get lucky today.

The Zapdos, however, was far from going down. It was heavily damaged from some previous fight the birds didn't know, but it could still put a good fight. As if to say that the bird let out a thunderous cry.

Its voice cackled like electricity, and carried a beastly tone of authority in it. 'Don't mess with me' was the kind of tone with which it cried.

Fate however, didn't have good plans for the legendary. Something flashy struck Zapdos, and exploded on the Pokémon's wings. The legendary bird let out a cry of pain, sending a chill down everyone else's spine.

Like a crashing plane, or a copter, Zapdos fell into the dense trees of Viridian Forest, its right wing severely bruised.

* * *

"Arceus!" Dad exclaimed, as the sparkling Zapdos crashed into the forest. Was that a bazooka? That wasn't good at all.

Someone attacked Zapdos, and was trying to capture it. If we don't hurry—

"To the forest!" I shouted, pacing up.

Dad's footsteps paced up behind me. Soon we were back in Viridian Forest, chasing for the location where Zapdos landed.

Viridian forest was a natural maze, no sooner did we enter into the array of trees we were lost. But the relentless sprint didn't stop. We had a good idea of where Zapdos landed.

Our hunch was correct. As we passed through the dense trees, and made it into a clearing, a powerful sparkling in the sky attracted our attention. It was certainly Zapdos.

I exchanged a glance with Dad, and nodded. We were getting close or so we thought but—

At the same time, two men wearing strange gray suits came in the same direction.

A moment of silence stood between us.

The two men reminded me of Hunter J and her minions. They carried the same cold looks. One of them had his face ridden with scars, and he looked like he wouldn't think twice to harm me if I try to stop him. The other looked equally ferocious. Their eyes reminded me of savage beasts reeking with greed. There was no doubt about it. These people happen to be those poachers Nurse Joy mentioned.

"Buizel," I prepped the water-type before us. The rain boosted Buizel's confidence, he didn't think twice before placing itself against the poachers.

"Tyranitar," one of the poachers casually tossed his Pokéball. The Godzilla Pokémon let out a beastly cry, as it set its eyes on Buizel, eyes that were brutal and carried a murderous intent.

"Petty trainers," the guy with the scars scoffed. "You guys should learn not to mess with certain people."

"Enough with the theatrical dialogues," Dad replied, just as condescendingly.

"Well then," the man said with a venomous anger in his voice. "Tyranitar," he pointed at Buizel. "Crunch it!"

The dark Pokémon, despite its beastly frame, sprinted like a nimble Treecko, opening its jaws to crunch the weasel Pokémon.

"Aqua Jet!"

Buizel let out its signature 'Bui' as water shrouded the Pokémon. Like a torpedo, it blasted its way towards the tyrannous Pokémon. The speed powered by Swift Swim from the rain, was beyond comprehensible.

The Pokémon that wide opened its jaws for a crunch, got the air knocked out when the powerful attack knocked it on its chest, like a spear. The enormous Pokémon stepped back in pain, and prepared to slash the weasel Pokémon with its claws, but the water type ducked underneath the attack and distanced itself.

The poacher scowled at the turn of events. "I'm not going to let you lose to a pipsqueak. So…" he smiled for once, before turning it into a glare, "Stone edge!"

The stones formed a double circular array around Tyranitar, around which they orbited. The stones then were collected at one spot, and shot one after the other like bullets from a machine gun.

"Counter it with Water Pulse!"

Buizel prepared a sphere of water, the size of a football and smashed it against the ground. The sphere of water hit the surface, and exploded into a wave. The wave powered by the rain grew strong enough to knock the branches of the trees around.

The projectiles struck the wave one after the other, none succeeding in breaking the water surge; instead all the stones were repelled. The wave then proceeded to crash on the Tyranitar, drenching the monster.

"Damn you!" The poacher stomped the moist ground.

"Water type moves are powered by the rain," Dad relayed. "You guys don't stand a chance, even with that behemoth."

Tyranitar growled back, as if it wanted to disagree with Dad. "Rain or not, we'll destroy you with this!"

The lost confidence in the trainer and Pokémon returned. Tyranitar stretched its muscles, and let a roar. The tyrannous Pokémon opened its jaws and—

"Hyperbeam!" The trainer commanded.

He's desperate; he wants to beat us badly. Then in that case let's use a power-upped—

"Water Gun!"

In response to Tyranitar's open jaws, that slowly collected the energy, Buizel took a deep breath that inflated its floatation sacs, and used the water gun. At the same time Tyranitar let out a powerful orange beam.

"Ash—!" Dad protested something but was cut off when the two attacks struck each other.

The orange beam of domination, blasted through its way towards Buizel, which stopped it with the water-type move.

A struggle ensued between the two attacks, but Tyranitar's Hyperbeam proved to be dominating, and pushed the water gun back.

But that shouldn't happen. I thought a power-upped attack could stop…

"Idiot!" Dad yelled from behind, as Hyperbeam slowly crept towards Buizel. "It's a freaking Hyperbeam. How the heck do you—"

"Buizel put more power into your attack!" I don't have time to listen to Dad's rants. I made a mistake, but that doesn't mean I'll lose.

Buizel attempted to put more power, but it was counterproductive. The Hyperbeam pushed itself in a sudden rush and almost impaled Buizel. There was in fact almost zero distance between Hyperbeam and Buizel.

"Buizel!" I tried to hide my panic, not sure how well I did so. "You can do it," I encouraged him meaninglessly. It was a desperate encouragement, but nothing says it won't work. "We have the rain to our advantage. Just put more power into it. You can do it, no matter what!"

The last yell seemed to push Buizel's spirit, because the water gun that was being utterly dominated slowly pushed back the Hyperbeam. But that wasn't the end of it. The thin streak of water gun was reinforced by a thicker stream of water. The stream only grew larger and larger, and finally grew large enough to push back Hyperbeam completely.

The powerful water type move which I think was no longer a water gun utterly dominated Hyperbeam and struck Tyranitar square on the chest. The Pokémon didn't squirm any more than necessary before falling to its right.

"Was that—?" I looked at Buizel in anticipation, wondering if what I saw was real or not.

"It's Hydro Pump!" Dad exclaimed, slapping on my back. "We're definitely lucky today."

That wasn't luck. It was Buizel's determination to _not _lose.

I threw my smirk at the startled poachers. "What do you think? Isn't my Pokémon super strong?"

The poacher bit his lip, but his companion placed an arm on his shoulder and said, "Let's withdraw for now."

"You're not getting away!" Dad exclaimed.

Suddenly, a Weezing floated down from the top, and blew thick smoke from its three heads. What seemed to be a clear view one second ago soon turned into a black smoke. The pungent odor filled my lungs, and stopped my breath at once. The odor was strong enough to bring tears out of my eyes. I tried to cough the air out of my lungs.

Luckily the smoke slowly cleared out thanks to the wind, and fresh air started to fill my lungs, giving me a feeling that I was back from dead into the living.

Unsurprisingly, the hooligans were no longer where they were standing a few seconds ago.

"Damn they got away!" I punched my fist against the damp grass. I shouldn't forget to wash my hands before eating,

"It doesn't matter," Dad said. "As long as they're after Zapdos, we can't lose to them."

Their target is Zapdos, but if we manage to protect Zapdos and hand it over to the police, then—

"Let's get to Zapdos," I said. My old man nodded at this.

* * *

Zapdos wasn't so hard to spot. It was a large Pokémon to begin with. Despite being a bird, it was as tall as my Dad.

Both of us hid behind the nearby trees, and peeped at the Pokémon. The huge Pokémon squat on the soft grass, while rubbing its injured wing against the trunk of a nearby tree. I don't know if something like that could heal him or not, but it seems Zapdos liked doing that.

There weren't any other Pokémon around. All of them were scared to wits, just by looking at the monstrous legendary.

"How do we save Zapdos?" I asked. There weren't many options. Maybe Dad would suggest using Zapdos as bait to lure—

"Pidgeooot!"

A cry interrupted our thoughts. The familiar orange bird stood in the air above Zapdos, a hostile look in its eyes.

"Ash, your Pokémon will ruin this!" Dad hissed.

I immediately jumped into action. "Pidgeot don't—"

It was too late. Pidgeot performed a powerful flap with its long wings, and created a powerful windstorm, that blew me off the range.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu screamed as he noticed me getting blown away by the wind. Both Unefezant and Pikachu joined the fray, but instead of attacking Zapdos, they approached me.

"I'm alright," I said as they landed beside me. Our plan's ruined. I glanced at Zapdos, wondering how the Pokémon was reacting.

It wasn't positive, just as I thought. The Pokémon let out an arcane cry that put a hole in my eardrums and stopped my heart momentarily.

Using its two feet, it charged at us.

"Quick Attack!" I commanded no one in general.

Three super speed attacks dashed at once, and struck Zapdos in three directions. The Quick Attack was from Unefezant, Pidgeot and Pikachu.

The legendary Pokémon, despite its stature was thrown away, only to strike a tree behind, before slumping down.

"Change of plans, Ash," Dad ordered. "Weaken Zapdos as much as you can. If we can't beat it now, we won't be able to save it."

But that's too much. It's not helping. And yet—

Even I couldn't find another way out.

Taking a firm pose behind my four Pokémon, I decided to do the lesser of two evils. Battle the injured Zapdos, and then save it. Besides, if we can't stop a berserk legendary, what chance do I have against Tobias? With a new determination in my blood, I sent out the next commands with zeal, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt—Unefezant, Air Slash—Pidgeot, Hurricane!"

Pikachu was the first one to respond, he let out his signature Thunderbolt. At the same time Unefezant prepared spheres of cutting wind and sent the Air Slash at Zapdos, while Pidgeot used the extremely powerful Hurricane.

Much to our surprise, Zapdos sprinted away from the three attacks aimed at it. In Zapdos's place, the tree behind it was severely battered by the combined force of the three attacks.

I didn't realize it till now. I thought Zapdos solely relied on its wings for movement. But unlike Pidgeot or any of my bird Pokémon, Zapdos could actually use its two legs for running like a normal Pokémon.

Once safely out of the damage zone, Zapdos immediately retorted by sending a powerful Thunder. However, it was still raining. Zapdos might be strong but could it beat a power-upped Hydro Pump?

Pushing the doubt away I commanded, "Buizel, Hydro Pump!"

Buizel lunged to the frontlines with swift swim boosted speed, and shot a powerful Hydro Pump.

It was time to see how strong Buizel's Hydro Pump was or so I thought but—

"Don't get cocky!" I hear Dad complaining from behind.

The Hydro Pump and Thunder met each other, but what happened next wasn't a measure of the strengths of the two Pokémon, instead it was a measure of my foolishness.

The Thunder passed through the water, owing to the water's conduction levels. And in extension—

"Buizel!" I realized it too late.

Buizel's body convulsed with shock. The attack rendered him immobile, and prevented him from dodging the attack. The Hydro pump disappeared as the user fainted right in midst of the attack.

Having noticed that the opponent was done for, Zapdos stopped the attack.

Buizel, its skin now partially charred black, collapsed on the ground like a lifeless doll.

"Stupid Idiot!" Dad smacked me on the head with more force than usual, as I watched my Pokémon aghast. "Get it into the Pokéball."

Snapping out of the shock, I took the ball and immediately turned Buizel back in. The damage done was too much.

"This is what I don't like about you!" Dad scolded. "Why the heck do you get cocky just because you learned a new move?"

My mind was blank. What the heck did I just do? Buizel had to suffer that super-effective Thunder because of my mistake. I shifted my attention to the legendary bird. I'm going to make that Zapdos pay for this. I'm going to—

"Boldore, I choose you!" I'm going to defeat it.

"Don't be rash," Dad warned from behind. "Zapdos acted on self-defense."

I understand that. I'm going to redirect the anger on those poachers. But I need to defeat Zapdos first.

"Boldore, Rock Blast!"

The ore Pokémon, firmly planted itself on the ground with its three legs, and shot the barrage of Rock type moves from the red crystal part.

Zapdos was taken in by surprise, the first Rock Blast hit straight on its face, but before the second one hit, Zapdos protected itself with its left wing. The left wing took the multiple hitting move for the Zapdos.

Although Zapdos shielded well enough from the Rock Blast, the move had significant effect on the Pokémon. The Pokémon couldn't even properly hold itself straight, and stooped to fall down, but somehow clutched itself back to consciousness.

"All you've to do is knock it out," Dad said. He was making sure, I didn't go out of control. "Then we'll take it back to Viridian."

"Okay," I said. We're pretty close. Zapdos was worn out from all that damage. Just a little bit. Hang in there, everyone.

"Let's finish it this time," I announced. The faster we are, the lesser would be Zapdos's suffering. "Boldore, one last time. Rock Blast!"

Boldore once again prepared to use the multi-hitting move. However I didn't consider what Zapdos was capable of at that moment.

Realizing the imminent loss, Zapdos made a last ditch effort. It performed a last minute attack, putting every last spark of its electricity in it.

The place where Zapdos stood was enveloped in a bright lightning. I covered my eyes with my hand, as the light grew larger, and finally Zapdos let out the most powerful electric Discharge out of its body.

The attack wasn't something spectacular, but the power the Pokémon possessed definitely was. As the light brightened and transformed into electric energy, I heard multiple cries of panic from my Pokémon.

Something held my shirt and yanked me right down to the ground. I heard something pass above me. It was electricity. Despite my eyes closed, I realized the whole place was haywire with the discharging electricity.

With extreme difficulty, and high curiosity, I tried opening my eyes, and spotted Boldore use a Flash Canon to protect itself, while Pikachu and the two birds were not even in the scene.

The flash finally ended, and everything seemed to get a lot dimmer than usual. It was a side-effect from watching such a bright light. I closed my eyes, expecting that my eyes would adjust faster if I close them.

After I opened my eyes, I noticed that the whole area was burnt black. What used to be a patch of green grass, with grand trees that blocked the sunlight around, turned into a black mass of charcoal and half-burnt trees.

The rain disappeared, and the dark clouds slowly left the sky, bringing the sunshine back to light the forest.

I couldn't comprehend the sudden changes in the events. But I made a good guess that Zapdos's electricity had something to do with the rain. Speaking of which—

Except for Boldore, there was nothing in front of us.

"Are you okay?" Dad asked. I noticed my Dad was beside me. The both of us were on the moist ground, and Dad's left hand was on my hood. He saved me from extreme electrocution. I was thunderbolt-ed more than once, but I wonder if I could take a Thunder like that and breathe.

"Yes," I said, releasing the breath I had been holding. "Boldore, are you okay?" I asked the Ore Pokémon.

The Pokémon turned back and nodded. He was tired, but he protected his life with that Flash Canon of his. "Good Job," I said.

Two familiar chirps were heard. Both Pidgeot and Unefezant appeared from behind the trees that were charred black. They used the trees as a protection it seems. Adding to my relief, I spotted Pikachu sitting on Pidgeot.

"You're all safe?" I asked. The Pokémon nodded in unison.

"But that damn bird got away," Dad sighed. He was visibly frustrated. "We made it an easier target for the poachers."

The shock from the recent events made it hard to stand for me. I was too close to harm than comfortable.

"We should search for it," I said. My heart was still beating fast, but it's slowly getting steadier.

"An aerial survey is impossible," Dad crossed out the first option that was still forming in my mind. "The forest's too dense for that." Zapdos purposefully chose this area, so that it could avoid getting spotted. Now that it's on the move, Zapdos was impossible to find. We only had one perfect chance, and it was ruined.

"We gotta try whatever we can," I said and turned to my Pokémon. There has to be something to do. If only I were more familiar with this place. It's been five years, and I barely—

"Hey, I know!" I hit my fist against my palm. "There's a guy who can help me. Pidgeot, I bet you know where he lives."

* * *

"I don't remember you," said the guy in a samurai dress, ironically he calls himself Samurai.

"Aw, come on," Ash cajoled. "We met here about five years ago. You even had a battle with me."

Ash looked at the guy of his age, with expectant eyes. But the Samurai simply raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

Ash exchanged a glance with Alex and turned back to the samurai. The Samurai said, "How the heck do you expect me to remember someone from _five_ years ago? Hundreds of trainers pass though this damn place. You expect me to remember everyone?"

"But we battled that day," Ash said in a pleading tone. "I'm from Pallet. You said you like to battle trainers from Pallet."

"When I said hundreds of trainers pass through this place," the Samurai was still far from recollecting Ash. "I also happen to mean that I battle hundreds of trainers every day."

Ash scratched his hair, unable to find a way to explain the boy. Alex believed this Samurai kid was a lost cause.

"Look," Ash tried explaining once more. "We had this Metapod versus Metapod fight, then a Beedrill took away my Metapod, then it evolved into a Butterfree. Do you remember me now? Ash Ketchum, does it ring a bell?"

The Samurai's face slowly changed colors. From an expressionless one to someone who just recollected something. "It did," the Samurai nodded and then said casually, "You're that incompetent Pallet Trainer. I'm surprised you're still in the training circuit."

"Heh," Ash scoffed. "I guess you don't know how much of a great trainer I've become."

"You haven't changed much," the Samurai scratched his chin. "If you've come all the way here to just gloat on my face," he turned around. "Goodbye," he waved to Ash and proceeded into the cabin.

"Wait!" Ash stopped him. "There's actually something important I want to tell you."

* * *

Zapdos was barely conscious. It had let out the final spark inside itself, and had no energy to flight. So basically it was now an electric-flying legendary that could neither fly nor use an electric move. The only strength it was left now existed in its legs, which the Pokémon used for hiding from the humans.

Those humans were annoying. They were giving it far more trouble than its pride accepted. Without a doubt, if it were to be spotted again, the game's over.

Thinking so, it rested its right part on the tree and squat on the ground. Zapdos's pride was badly burnt, and it sought revenge. But it didn't have the power to do so. So for now hiding was the best policy.

The Viridian Forest was calm and silent. Even the Beedrill were scared by its presence, and moved in swarms, away from the Pokémon. It liked solitude as it was used to it. It closed its eyes, so that it could rest briefly, and regain some of the lost strength.

No sooner it did so, "Aggron, Head Smash!"

A human's voice rang through Zapdos's sharp ears. Something heavy moved behind the tree, the Pokémon sensed, and moved out of the way, just in time.

The trunk of the tree split into pieces as a thick headed Aggron emerged out of it.

The Zapdos heaved in relief as it successfully dodged the attack. But then something sharp struck Zapdos on the rear. It turned behind and spotted a sharp needle like object pierced on the damaged right wing.

The Pokémon that was already worn out, and was ready to lose consciousness was easily seduced by the tranquillizer. Before it knew Zapdos was sleeping peacefully.

* * *

"So this is the only exit to Pewter?" Dad asked. Honestly I didn't realize much difference from before. We were between trees a few minutes ago, and we still were the same.

"Well," the samurai shrugged. It was a yes.

"Are you sure, they'll come this way?" I asked.

"Not my business," the Samurai said. "They came in a van, and they'll have to leave in one."

"The Viridian Police might be alert by now," Dad mused. "This's the only way they would take. I'm positive." So the poachers will surely come this way.

Even though he took his time to recollect my name, Samurai had actually helped us out. I wanted to thank him earnestly. "Well, thanks for—"

"No mention," the Samurai cut me off. "I'm not going to take your thanks because you'll just drag me into this thing. I'm not fond of danger."

"But you're a Samurai," Dad remembered him.

"Yeah, and I also happen to be a bug-type specialist who challenges only beginning trainers and _still_ lose," he said brusquely. "So basically. Goodbye."

What happened to him? This wasn't like him at all. Five years ago, I remember how he challenged me, taught me how important a Pokémon was to a trainer. Was he the same passionate guy from back then, or an impostor who took his place?

"People change," Dad said, noticing the troubled expression on my face. "Not everyone remains the same."

But I won't. I won't ever abandon my goal. At any cost, I'm going to prove myself to the world that I'm the world's—no, the universe's strongest Pokémon Master.

Firstly, I need to save that Zapdos though.

* * *

Zapdos found itself in a cage. It absolutely loved freedom. Closed spaces were something it absolutely loathed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was trapped by the humans in a moving cage. There's no way it could allow this. The bird knew that there was only way out. Break the damn cage open.

With what little space it had, it hit the cage with full force. The cage didn't break magically as it expected, but the entire vehicle shook thanks to the impact.

The vehicle stopped, or in Zapdos's eyes, the moving cage stopped moving. The bird found this to be a success and hit the cage once again. This time, the rods that trapped it were bent slightly. The bird took the encouragement and pushed further, and hit again and again.

"Hey, the birdie's awake!" Andy, the guy whose face was ridden with scars was the first one at the scene.

"What the heck," the other guy, who was still drowsy from his afternoon nap, looked at the charging Zapdos. At this point, the bird broke the cage open, and crashed on the ground with the same momentum.

"Dammit," Andy cursed. "I told you legendaries are out of our scope!" He yelled.

"Shaddup," the other guy snapped. "Do you expect to impress people with the same shit? Be a man, and gear up. We can still recapture it."

All they needed to do was adjust the dose of the tranquilizer. There was some miscalculation.

"Aggron," he sent the Iron Armor Pokémon.

Andy on the other hand, took four Pokéball, "Let's do this, Scizor!"

The four balls tossed, materialized into four of the red mantis Pokémon that stood in an attention position.

Zapdos, having noticed the danger it was in, began its run and dashed into the denser areas that it could fit into.

"The usual drill," Andy called the attention of the four Scizor. "Pursuit, then surround. Aggron will do the rest."

The Scizor nodded, and dashed in the direction the Zapdos went in. The slow Aggron followed them with steady and heavy steps.

Zapdos, despite not flying, was fast, but the ones sent on pursuit were Scizor, which were known for their incredible speed in the forestlands.

As the legendary Pokémon helplessly ran for its freedom using the help of its legs that were never designed for running, the Scizor caught up in no time and surrounded the bird.

The panting bird looked from one Scizor to another. It knew its fate was sealed. But its pride refused to give up. It lunged at the closest Scizor and attempted to strike it with its beak, but the Scizor expertly stepped back, while the rest closed in on the other three directions, threatening to strike it from behind. Realizing its disadvantage Zapdos stopped and glared at the other three.

The Scizor carefully circled the Zapdos, as the legendary desperately searched for an opening in their encirclement. It found none.

"Head Smash!"

The bird arched its neck to the left. The four Scizor moved away in a flash, and in its place, the Aggron came at it. The bird attempted to run to the right, but then a Scizor used a swift Bullet Punch on its face, and pushed the bird back before it could even react. The Aggron, which put a moving truck or even a train to shame, struck it with the most powerful rock type move.

The attack was fatal to Zapdos; it simply couldn't do anything to resist the attack, and ended up flying in the air, before striking a tree behind and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Well," Andy shrugged. "I guess we don't even need a tranquilizer. Using that bazooka to cripple its wings was a great decision."

"If it weren't for that Pidgeot and other two Pokémon," the other guy smirked. "We would still be licking for its scent."

"Just to make sure," Andy removed his backpack, and took out something. "Let's use the new Latex ball. What do you say?"

"Fine by me," he said. "But remember, a Latex ball costs a lot more than a cage, so be careful."

Andy laughed at this, "C'mon, its unconscious dude." He turned to the bird Pokémon. "Here we go," he lifted the Pokéball in a dramatic fashion and tossed it at Zapdos.

The ball was aimed perfectly at Zapdos. It could have definitely hit Zapdos, if it weren't for—

"Hurricane!"

A sudden windstorm from the sky knocked the ball out of its track. The said ball changed its course and went somewhere deep into the darkness of the Viridian undergrowth.

"My Latex ball!" Andy screamed. He looked into the sky, only to be startled by a certain young trainer atop his Pidgeot.

"Boldore, Rock Blast!"

Andy and the other poacher were surprised to see another person behind them. This one happened to be an adult.

The ore Pokémon performed its signature Rock Blast at the lineup of Scizor near Zapdos.

"Pikachu Thunderbolt—Unefezant Aerial Ace!"

Right from another direction, two more Pokémon attacked form the sky, the first one was a thunderbolt aimed at Aggron, and the second one was an Aerial Ace that was aimed to further disorient the Scizor formation.

"Damn you trainers," Andy gnashed his teeth. "I'm going to freaking destroy you all." He was mad at the fact that the only Latex ball his company afforded was blown away as if it was a piece of thrash.

* * *

Everything was a little chaotic over there. There were more Pokémon than trainers.

I landed on the ground, so that I could let Pidgeot freely battle the Pokémon. Zapdos was pretty close from where I stood, and so was the four Scizor.

On the other hand, Dad and Boldore were closer to the poachers and Aggron. Pikachu and Unefezant landed beside me, to assist me with the four Scizor.

This's gonna be a tough one, but I had Dad on my side. He'd fight an Aggron, and I gave him Gible and Boldore's balls. But still, "Pidgeot, help Dad out. I'll take care of these Scizor." I had an ace in the hole for that. I enlarged my fifth and my last conscious Pokémon's Pokéball. "Tauros, I choose you!"

With that I had three on my line up. Tauros knew Fire Blast, so I had the advantage despite the number. I should be handling more than one Pokémon. Then again, so should my opponent.

"Let's do this!" I glared at the Scizor's trainer, who was shaking with fury.

"Kid," he looked at me with an animalistic rage, on his face. His eyes were wide open, his eye balls were extremely red and seemed like they would pop out anytime. "Scizor, Bullet Punch!"

The four Scizor rushed one after the other, at a dazzling speed to strike my Pokémon.

"Pikachu Quick Attack—Unefezant Aerial Ace—Tauros Double Team!"

Pikachu jumped back as the first Scizor dashed past it, successfully evading the attack and propelled itself to strike the Second Scizor head on.

The third Scizor attempted to hit Unefezant, but the Pokémon disappeared in time, and appeared right behind it, and attempted to strike it from behind. But the Scizor used Bullet Punch's momentum and jumped away from her.

Tauros dodged the fourth attack with its Double Team.

Judging from the moments, I believe these Pokémon might be used to battling on their own. "Let's see…"

I looked around, the first Scizor took an interest to join the fourth and attack Tauros. Unefezant and the third were busy dodging each other. Pikachu was in a close combat with the second one.

"Re-formation!" The poacher announced. The four Scizor broke away from their respective positions and circled us once more.

That's his weakness. He could only command all the Scizor at once, unless he had a nickname for each. These Pokémon don't look like they belonged to him either. There's no way I would lose.

"Scizor," he commanded once more. "Use X-Scissor!"

The four Pokémon began circling around us. If my hunch was correct, I can predict their movements.

"Pikachu jump onto Unefezant, and use Quadruple Thunderbolt!—Unefezant use Air Slash after that—Tauros Fire Blast!"

Unefezant understanding the command dove down as Pikachu jumped onto her.

The Scizor lunged at once. Three of them ignored Pikachu and Unefezant jumping away, while the fourth went to attack the two.

Pikachu let out his much weaker Quadruple Thunderbolt. The Scizor that attacked Pikachu dodged it with ease, but at the same time, Unefezant prepared the Air Slash and struck the Scizor.

All the three Scizor that attacked Tauros dodged the Thunderbolt with ease. Yes it was true that the Scizor were good enough to dodge a multiple thunderbolt, but what if they get hit by a move right after?

As two of the Scizor ducked to escape the Thunderbolt, Tauros used a Fire Blast. The Pokémon no matter how fast they were couldn't dodge that.

The two Scizor were burnt by the fire type move. But using that opportunity, the fourth Scizor attacked Tauros from behind.

Roaring in pain, Tauros turned around, pissed by the Scizor's back attack. Tauros immediately charged upon Scizor and bashed its skull onto the steel type's chest.

"Alright!" I exclaimed. They were down to two Scizor, which were both damaged and outnumbered.

"I hate you trainers," the hunter guy hissed. "Scizor, fall back!"

* * *

Meanwhile on Alex's side.

"Gible, Boldore Rock Smash!"

The duo of rock-smashers jumped at Aggron and landed a hit straight on Aggron's face, at the same time.

The fighting type move immensely hurt the steel-rock type. If it weren't for its towering figure, Aggron would probably have landed on the ground.

"Pidgeot," he said. "Use—" he paused. "Um, whatever hits Aggron better." He wasn't sure what Pidgeot's other two moves were. Quick Attack and Hurricane were the only ones he witnessed.

The Pokémon chirped with happiness, and opened its beaks and let out hot waves from its mouth. The hot wind enveloped Aggron, sintering the steel type.

"Heat Wave, huh," Alex was marveled. "Good."

Aggron's trainer however wasn't so happy. "Iron Tail!" He commanded.

The Pokémon, in desperation swung its heavy tail at Pidgeot; however it was only child's play for Pidgeot. "Boldore Rock Smash—Gible, Dig!"

The Pokémon responded quickly, as if he were their trainer. Boldore smacked the Pokémon square on the chest and at the same time Gible attacked from below and toppled the giant Pokémon to the ground.

"Pidgeot," Alex said with finality in his voice. "Heat Wave!"

* * *

The battle came to an end.

Aggron and two Scizor were down. I'm pretty sure they have saved the last two Scizor for saving their own skin.

"Unefezant," I warned her. I'm pretty sure they would send Weezing once more to escape. But Unefezant can take care of that for us.

"Let's finish this once for all," I announced. "Pikachu—"

I was stopped by a shallow cry from behind. It was Zapdos.

"It's back to consciousness?" Even Dad was surprised. The Head Smash must have done some serious damage.

The Pokémon struggled to get up onto its feet, but it sent a warning cry to all of us. To be honest, it was scared. One look at the Pokémon and anyone would pity it. It was all because of those selfish poachers. It makes my blood boil.

"Ash," Dad said. "Zapdos is frightened, restrain it. I'll take care of these two."

I nodded. "Pidgeot," I said. "This Zapdos has been troubling your flock, but you should understand that it's not Zapdos's fault. Will you help me?"

Pidgeot hesitated for a second, but nodded.

We approached the frightened legendary. The Pokémon took a step back, while sending another warning cry. I tried to comfort the Pokémon. "Zapdos we—" It cut me off with its cry. Pidgeot hissed in reply, but Zapdos cried back in return, slightly intimidating Pidgeot.

Taking a step forward Zapdos struck Pidgeot with its sharp wings. The Bird Pokémon would've attacked back in return, but it didn't. Instead, it tried to convince the Pokémon.

Zapdos actively refused, and hit Pidgeot with the Drill Peck.

"Pidgeot!" I tried helping the Pokémon. He turned around and gave me a reassuring smile. The seriousness in his eyes was real. I smiled in return, "You can do it, Pidgeot." He wants to convince Zapdos with words not attacks.

* * *

It was a tough ride to Pewter City. When both I and Dad came to the city with an unconscious Zapdos with us, the people who saw the scene went crazy. I headed straight to the Pokémon Center, while Dad took the poachers to the police. The final fight was a hard struggle for Dad. Both the poachers used the Scizor as their shield to get away. Luckily Dad knew how to make most out of situations like this.

"It's strange," I said, looking at the Pokémon in the I.C.U. I was in the Pewter Centre. Sitting in a similar position like in Viridian, when Pidgeot was injured earlier this morning.

"What is?" Cilan asked.

Brock helped out the Pewter Nurse, so when he heard we came with a Zapdos in tow, even Cilan joined us.

"Last night, I saved Pidgeot," I said. "And now a Zapdos."

Cilan chuckled at this, "It means you really care for Pokémon. You are wild like a Mankey, and kind like a Blissey."

That really sounded odd, but I ignored it. Most of what Cilan say were odd. "Thanks," I said.

"The Endangered and Mythical Pokémon protection program has announced to fund the expenses for taking care of Zapdos," Cilan said. "I think it'll be fine. Don't you have something else to take care of?"

I realized I forgot something important. "Thanks, Cilan," I shook hands with him and went to the adjacent healing room.

Noticing me coming in, seven creatures got up at once, and greeted me in their respective languages. Unefezant didn't face any injuries, she was simply tired. Pikachu and Tauros took some damage, while Gible and Boldore suffered decent damage from the Scizor when Dad tried to stop the poachers. Both of them were awesome. Tauros had a nasty bump on his rear, and was not happy with it. Buizel was severely damaged earlier, but he was recovering now. Lastly,

Pidgeot. He really deserved the credit for convincing Zapdos back. I'm really proud to have such a Pokémon, but alas, he couldn't return with me. Those Pidgey and Pidgeotto really need him.

"I wish you could come back with me," I said. Pidgeot hung its head in shame at this. He knows it too. He couldn't just come back with me. Even if he were to leave the Pidgeotto and Pidgey alone, he would constantly be worried for them, and can't even train properly. I can't take him when half his heart was somewhere else.

"I wish I could hold that promise," I muttered. "And take you back."

I could feel sorrow welling up in my heart, and catch my throat. I shouldn't cry. I'm not a kid anymore. Looking at Pidgeot, I realized he was doing the same.

We were both fighting back tears, and it somehow made me laugh.

* * *

About an hour later.

It was five in the evening. Dad returned and informed us the good news. The police arrested the poachers and put them away for good. We even got a cash prize for the effort.

The Nurse told it would take more time for Buizel to heal, so we had to wait till nightfall. Dad said, it would be great if we set for Mt. Moon in the night, after the dinner.

But after that, we all had to come outside when the annoying flutters from a certain flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto called us.

"It's time to say goodbye," I said to Pidgeot. We assembled in the Pokémon Center's battlefield. The uncountable number of Pidgey and Pidgeotto watched eagerly as I gave Pidgeot one final hug. The wonderful part? Both of us successfully held back the tears. We were real men, according to Dad's definition I suppose.

Pidgeot glanced at the distant Unefezant. There was a gleam of determination in his eyes as he watched her. He walked to the plants that Nurse Joy raised in the field, and proceeded to pluck a couple of flowers.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I yelled. Plucking from someone else's backyard wasn't good manners. In fact our neighbor got pissed when Mr. Mime did that. Mom had to buy him a bouquet in exchange.

"It's okay," Nurse Joy, however, was kind, unlike my grumpy neighbor.

Pidgeot took the flowers it picked and flapped towards Unefezant, who stood at a distance, as if she had nothing to do with us.

When Unefezant didn't even bother to look at him, he gently dropped the flowers at her feet, and turned around silently. I gave him a smile of encouragement. Pidgeot then chirped something to the flock and turned around to leave.

The Pidgey and Pidgeotto were riled up, ready to follow the leader into the sky, and head back to the forest. It pains my heart that I had to part with Pidgeot again. He looked at me for one last time, and took flight, followed by the flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto.

However, a group of five Pidgeotto didn't move for some reason. Pidgeot halted and asked in what seemed like a 'Hey, What's wrong?' in Pidgeotese.

The five Pidgeotto exchanged glances and then at once—

A blinding light flashed into our eyes at once.

Everyone around were surprised by the sudden light. The source of the light, the five Pidgeotto slowly grew in shape. The small red mane grew into a long orange, the talons that were as large as my hands grew many times in size. Over all, the birds that barely reached my knees suddenly grew into something as tall as me. The blinding light disappeared when five similar cries were heard in unison.

"T-They evolved," Dad played Captain Obvious.

"Y-Yeah," for some reason even I was speechless. "Wait a minute," I glanced at Pidgeot, realizing what this meant. Apparently he had the same thing in mind. We're totally in sync today.

What seemed to be hidden till then came out. Both Pidgeot and I lunged at each other and ended up crying in each other's arms, or in Pidgeot's case wings.

This caused everyone around to laugh, in happiness. Except for Dad of course.

"Eh," Dad sighed. "True men don't cry but," he seemed to be lenient this time. "Whatever."

And that's how what began as a farewell between me and Pidgeot ended up into a farewell between him and the Pidgey, Pidgeotto and the five newly evolved Pidgeot. The Pidgey flock had more protection now, and didn't need my Pidgeot anymore.

"Thank you," I said to the five Pidgeot as they departed. "You guys are really cool. I know you're gonna miss my Pidgeot, but don't worry, he'll be visiting you guys. It's a promise," I said giving the largest of them a hand-and-wing shake.

Pidgeot on the other hand was chirping something to the younger ones, like a responsible adult Pokémon. The Pidgey chirped in return.

The group gave a combined cry for Pidgeot in honor, and finally dispersed. The flock which stood with us a few seconds ago was now distant dots in the orange sky, as the sun set to his sleep.

Once the flock was long gone, Pidgeot turned towards me and the rest of the team. The two of us were happy with the turn of events.

I gave him my signature smirk. "Pidgeot, welcome back to the team." I announced. Boldore, Gible, Pikachu, Tauros cried a welcome in unison.

"I'm expecting great things from you Pidgeot," Dad winked, pointing his thumb in the direction where Unefezant stood.

To Pidgeot's and my surprise, the flowers that Pidgeot left on the ground were in Unefezant's beak. But when she realized Pidgeot was staring at her, she immediately dropped the flowers and flew away.

"Hey Unefezant, where're you going?" I yelled, but the bird didn't turn back even once.

It wasn't until dinner that Unefezant returned. But when she did, I had to make Pidgeot apologize for her.

Days moved fast after that.

As promised, in Pewter City, I had to rotate my team for a fresh bunch. We trained for three days at the foot of Mt. Moon. We could have explored the inside and got to Cerulean from there, but Dad said it was better if we visit the other side of Mt. Moon later. I actually wanted to meet Misty, but oh well. I'll apologize to her later.

October 8th, when I came back to Pewter, I called Max. I was told he already left for his journey throughout Hoenn. Unlike me, he was on time, and picked a Treecko.

May told they were an incredible pair.

Cilan invited us to the opening of the Sommelier fair at Pewter. He tasted a couple of Pokémon of mine, as a demonstration. The people immediately fell in love with the foreign concept. About twenty five people enrolled as Sommelier trainees.

Forrest took a liking to my Boldore and asked to trade Boldore for a day. Upon Dad's suggestion, I traded his Graveler to my Boldore for a gym battle. To my surprise, both of them evolved right after that. My old man surprised me once again; he apparently knew Boldore and Graveler evolve when traded. I pitted Golem against Forrest who used Gigalith, and I ended up losing. I wasn't sure, if I should be happy or not. After the battle, we traded our Pokémon back.

October 12th, after three days of training in Viridian Forest, I came back to Viridian City. I heard Mom called us for about seven times. Despite Mom's warning to call every day, both of us forgot about it.

We returned back to Pallet by 15th. We spent the next whole week at home. Dad taught me about move rotation system in that time.

Move rotation's basically simple. Every Pokémon has a specific set of four moves that it could use in a battle. Trainers, who know about this limitation, use the data normally available in the League Database and try countermeasures against the specific move-set. So, instead of one set of moves, it's preferred to teach every Pokémon more than one set.

It was a hard thing to do, and took most of our time. I had to constantly re-teach old moves, and train them how to use it again.

For example, I taught Pikachu a set of Agility, Thunderbolt, Iron Tail and Electro ball. Dad told Electro ball gets stronger the faster it get and matches with Agility. The other set it had was Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail and Volt Tackle.

It was on 22nd that we decided to set to Seafoam islands, where one of the most important events was going to be held. After spending some time training in the nearby islands we reached Seafoam on 24th.

Both Dad and I couldn't sleep on October 24th. We're going to meet the Elite Four and Champions from all regions, the next day. Just thinking about that made me go bonkers like Barry.

There won't be anything related to battle, but it would still be an honor to meet them all. I was too excited.

The fated day was Tomorrow.

**Next Chapter: The Elite Battler's Conference! Meet the stars of the Pokémon World!**

**A/N: Charizard, Squirtle and few other Pokémon haven't returned yet. But, the time skips continue to hit on us, it won't be not long before we see them all back again.**

**A lot of evolutions won't be revealed on-screen like I did with Boldore. I know it's kinda nasty to put evolutions off-screen, but evolutions are so cliché. They generally happen when the Pokémon fall in deep trouble, and had to evolve to overcome the trouble. I won't touch all but a few of them. I won't guarantee that all Pokémon will evolve. But most of them will, I think so.**

**We're about a couple chapters away from the world League after a major time skip. Get ready people!**

** Now, this is just a casual question, and has no relevancy to the plot but **

**1. What's your favorite theme song (excluding the OS's title song). I know that the original title song is everyone's favorite, so it's boring to see the same answer. So what other opening song do you like in Pokémon? (You can include Japanese songs in your answers too. I like them more!)**

**The second question has more relevance to the plot.**

**2. Do you want me to start the world tournament pretty quickly by skipping (speeding through) a couple of training/re-union episodes, or do you want to wait and have more chapters of build-up before the actual tournament?**

**Do answer the second question through the review box below. You needn't have an account to post a review.**

**3.****This chapter happens to be a long one, and had 11,000+ word count. Did you feel this tiresome to read? Or was it good enough for you to not notice the enormous word count? The stand word count seems to be 3,000 from what I've read.**

**Lastly, for you authors who lack reviews, or want more of them, I have a wonderful place for you. It is a forum I have created!**

**Just go to ****forum/You-review-mine-I-will-review-yours/125643/ - Do note this is not the complete link. Just fill in first part and add a \ before the forum part**


	8. The Elite Battler's Conference!

**Last Time I asked all of you, what your favorite theme song is. Most of you answered with English theme songs, which made me realize that most of you don't watch the Japanese Version like I do. I apologize for this, but I stopped watching Pokémon in English three years ago (I hate the dub), and I have to use Bulbapedia as my source for the English names and all. Do correct me if I make mistakes!**

**My favorite theme is a Japanese one, and is responsible for the name of this story, as the last translated lines of the lyrics say 'Let's take this road and aim to be a Pokémon Master'. **

**Just Google: 'saikou everyday opening Video' and open the first YouTube link, that's my favorite theme.**

**A small note: In my version of story, both Kanto and Johto have only one champion, but they have two separate sets of Elite Four. Will, Karen and two new OCs will be the Johto Elite Four while Bruno, Lorelei, Agatha and Koga will be the Kanto Elite Four. So don't get confused while reading!**

* * *

**8. The Elite Battler's Conference! Meet the Stars of the Pokemon World!**

**October 25****th**

**Countdown 340:13:51:05**

On October 25th, if you happen to be by the all-famous Seafoam's Sea-Side Resort, then you would have noticed that two men dressed in tuxedo were running all the way along the road, filled with costly cars on either side.

It was an embarrassing scene, but we couldn't help it. Both Dad and I were _really _late. Today's an auspicious day for both of us, or in fact anyone who received the excellent opportunity to see all the Elite Fours and Champions up-close in one place. Unfortunately, Dad and I were too excited, and woke up late.

_"You are cordially invited to attend the Elite Battler's Conference at 10 A.M on October 25__th__, Sea-Side Resort, Seafoam Isles, Kanto. _

_ -Cynthia B, Sinnoh Champion._

_ -Goodsho H, C.E.O, P.L.A."_

It says 10 A.M. Wanna guess what the time now is?

"It's freaking 11," Dad muttered as we saw the distant entrance coming up close. Beyond the compound fencing of the resort, I noticed a green field that seemed to be too big for a battlefield.

"That's a huge battlefield," I said, between heavy breaths as a result of running.

"It's a Golf Course, idiot!" Dad yapped at me.

Hey, you don't scold people for _not _knowing something!

Our pace thinned down, as the grand entrance to the grand resort came closer. A building stood behind the gate, welcoming us to the party that only a few lucky ones in the entire world could attend.

Unable to hold my excitement, I began to rush towards the gate once more. At that moment, I didn't notice that two men dressed in black suits, were standing by the gate.

Something moved swiftly as I charged at the gate. Before I could turn around and see what was happening, a firm hand pushed me back. The sudden attack on my chest startled me. Unable to balance myself, I ended up falling on the well-laid road on my back.

"Ash," Dad came from behind, and helped me back to my feet. "What the hell's the meaning of this?" He glared at the man who pushed me.

"Sorry sir," the man dressed in suit however didn't look like he was meaning it. "This is a high-class party, you need an invitation."

"Well," Dad snatched the piece of paper from my hand and stashed into the guard's hands. "You better learn how to treat your guests."

The man in suit studied the invitation, as the other man in suit with a clean-shaved head looked into it as well. Either of them exchanged a glance. "A minute sir," he said taking his phone, and put it against his ear. The bald guy gave an apologetic smile meanwhile. "Ma'am," the man spoke into the phone after a brief pause. "We have a Mr. Alexander Ketchum and Ash Ketchum over here," he paused once more, waiting for the other person to talk. He then turned to me, "A Pikachu, yes ma'am," he spoke. "Sure," he said, "I'm sorry for the disturbance ma'am." He paused once more, "No problem." He clicked the phone off, and shoved it back into his pocket, and proceeded to open the gate for us.

"I'm extremely sorry sir," he spoke to us with utmost courtesy which he didn't bother to show a minute earlier. He said, "We had too many cases of fake invitations since morning." I realized he was staring at our dress as we walked inside.

"It's okay," Dad grumbled, maintaining his frown, sending the guard a warning look.

As soon as the sour moment ended, we lunged once more towards the main building, and hence the banquet hall.

The courtyard was decorated with flowers of all colors, some that I hadn't seen in my five years of travelling. A fountain stood in the center of the path. Taking a turn about it, we walked inside.

Two more men in suits stood by the entrance. They gave us a skeptic glance as we walked right into the hall. Once again, they were staring at our tux. What the heck?

The scene inside stunned me. The first thing that caught my attention was the flashy décor hanging by the ceilings. A surprisingly large number of people, around hundred or so were inside, each with a bright smile on their faces, as they chattered meaninglessly among themselves. Tables were neatly arranged before a bright stage up front. A colorful banner which read 'Elite Battler's Conference' beamed at us, while a soft music played in the background.

Yeah, this was it.

I looked at my Dad, who surprisingly looked at me at the same time. Both of us had the same expression written on our faces: Glee.

"Well if it isn't Ashy-boy and his Dad," A cocky voice called us to attention. Standing before us, with one hand running over his brown, neat hairdo was Gary Oak.

"What the—!" Those were the first words that slipped from my mouth. Gary, much to my jealousy was looking like a charming prince in contrast to my shabby dressing and hairstyle. No wonder Brock calls him a 'ladies' man'. I never gave much thought on things like this, but for some reason even _I_ felt we could have dressed better.

He smirked at my reaction and jibed, "As punctual as always huh."

"We're fashionably late," I bluffed, throwing him an 'everything's-going-as-planned' look.

"Do you think I didn't notice the commotion outside," his face looked like he was hiding a grin. "If you're coming to a party, you should at least dress better than the guards."

"What did you say?" I shot him a glare. But Gary remained passive, and simply snorted. "You're wearing a tux too, right?" I said, pointing to his dress.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "But there's a difference between yours and mine."

I had to admit it. What I and Dad wore was a worn out grey. The guards' suits definitely looked better than ours. I looked at my Dad giving him an inquisitive glance.

Dad sighed, "We're on a tight budget this month."

"Anyway," Gary said, "You guys are lucky. Mr. Goodsho hasn't come yet. The party won't start till he comes. Let's get in Ash," he smiled, "There're a lot of people in here, and I bet you'd want to meet most of them."

"Of course," I grinned. As we walked into the crowd I realized something. "Hey, when did _you_ come?"

Gary laughed at this, "Only a minute before you guys did. I was actually intimidated by all these people around."

That was not far from the truth. The people around looked ridiculously high-class. Most of them were old men in suits, or very beautiful young girls, none failing to expose their beautiful legs, which were mounted on excessively large heels, and not to mention the sparkling necklaces on each one of them. When I become a Pokémon Master, I bet I can buy Mom more expensive clothes. She would really look bad if she had come to the party with those clothes in her wardrobe. Although, I think it's supposed to be Dad's job.

"Ash," the said man tugged my shirt, bringing me from my world of thoughts. "Look there." He excitedly pointed at a certain crowd.

Standing amongst a cheerful number of people was the complete Unova Elite Four set, posing for a photo taken by some stout business man.

To be honest, I couldn't have identified all the Elite Four. Dad, to save me from that embarrassment brought the League Catalogue, and made me remember the names of all the Elite Four and Champions. I had to admit, I didn't knew as many Elite Four as I thought I did.

While we watched them dreamily searching for some more of them amongst the crowd, I didn't realize the people around me grew silent and were staring at something behind me, as if a giant Sharpedo was about to attack us.

"Long time no see, Alex and Ash," contrastingly, a melodious voice greeted us.

All three of us turned around, only to see the most wonderful bunch of four behind us.

One was a tall and beautiful blonde woman in a black sleeveless dress, the second was a man dressed in a suit equally red as his hair, next was a handsome and refined silver-haired man in a black business suit, and lastly, another handsome man, who was as calm as water and as cheerful as the tide, in a white dress.

"Cynthia, Lance, Steven and Wallace!" I exclaimed.

Is this a dream? All the great champions were standing in front of us.

Well a certain man was more excited than I was. Pushing me aside, Dad exclaimed, "Cynthia, looking as hot as ever!" He moved forward, as if to give her a hug.

"Cut the joke, Alex," Cynthia said, gently pushing Dad back. "I know you're married."

Dad scratched his hair in embarrassment, and laughed, "Well, thanks a bunch for Rosenburg." Cynthia simply smiled at that, as if to say it was nothing.

"Ash," Lance extended an arm to give me a handshake. "It's been a while."

Dad who noticed the exchange was mildly surprised. "Whoa, how do _you _two know each other?" He raised an eyebrow, in question.

"Your son helped me a lot during the Hoenn Apocalypse," Lance smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Alex."

Dad was confused at first, but he decided to put it for later. "It's an honor for me actually," He smiled back. "And the Hoenn Champion Duo too," he nodded at Steven and Wallace.

"You're not a strange name to Rosenburg, Alex," Steven shook hands with Dad. "And I do remember meeting your son, even if it's for a brief while," he said. He turned to Gary, "And I believe you're Gary Oak. I am fascinated by your research. We share similar interests."

Gary looked dazed, as if he was punched hard in the face. He recovered surprisingly, "I heard about your own works on ancient fossils, Steven," Gary gave him a business smile. "I'm willing to check your collection sometime."

"Gary's doing an advanced research on fossil Pokémon," Cynthia informed the other champions, who shook their head in acknowledgment. Gary was more famous than I gave credit for.

"Where's my favorite Champion?" Dad asked, looking around. Apparently one more champion was missing.

"_Alan_!" A large man with reddish-orange hair announced as Dad turned around.

Alan?

"Sensei!" Dad jumped, as either of them pulled into a bone-crushing embrace.

The Unova Champion, Alder then turned to me and Gary. "Well if it isn't Ashton, and Garrison."

"It's Ash," I mumbled. I gave up on correcting him a year ago actually.

"Gary," Gary mumbled at the same time, then shook his head realizing that it's futile. How he knew Gary was a mystery to me. But by now, it's safe to assume Gary Oak's definitely a popular name.

"Stop calling him Sensei," another man accompanied Alder. He's Marshal, I remember from the catalogue. Marshal was well-built, had a trimmed orange hair, and a dashing attitude.

"You call him Sensei too," Dad gave him a taunting smile.

"I call him for a more pure-reason," Marshal said, giving Dad a disgusted look.

Alder laughed at this and leaned down to whisper into Dad's ears, "This party's sick. You gotta check Lucian's Date, Alan. She's hot."

I actually heard that Mr. Old Man. Now I realized _why_ Dad calls him Sensei.

Dad grinned sheepishly, and said with an apologetic smile. "I'm committed to my wife now."

"You're kidding me!" Alder was shocked, but immediately burst into laughter. "Well at least watch me pick on 'em."

Dad exclaimed in return, "Sure, Sensei!" He saluted Alder like a soldier.

That wasn't the end to the surprising reunions though. Just then, a new figure moved towards us. The crowd jumped away from his path, owing to his intimidating figure. "Mao will be disappointed if he sees this," the voice belonged to a pack of muscles, neatly shaped into a man. Standing beside us was—

"Bruno," Lance chortled. "Have you ever heard of the word called 'shirt'?"

It was true because Bruno was now wearing half a tuxedo, the pant part actually.

"Bruno," I moved forward, feeling left behind among the towers of muscles around me. "Remember me, Ash?"

Bruno stared at me blankly. "Uh, no."

The sharp response left me dejected. It's been four years. I shouldn't have expected him to remember a random kid.

"He's my son," Dad gently slapped my back. "His name's Ash."

"Ah," Bruno nodded, half-listening. He seemed serious, "Alex, come with me. We've some catching up to do."

Something was going on between Dad and him. And for some reason, I think I'm the only one left out without any information, because everyone else around turned silent. "Okay," Dad muttered, looking straight into Bruno's eyes. "Ash, have fun with Gary. Don't forget the autographs."

I nodded. "I'll be around."

"See ya later, champions," he waved to them before disappearing into the people around.

Why did the man who was in an unusually jovial mood turned sour suddenly?

"We'll have to be going too," Cynthia said, breaking the ice that formed thanks to my Dad leaving. "There's a photo-shoot outside."

"Sure," Gary said, giving the Champions' way to walk.

"I never knew you were Alan's son," Alder grinned, before waving me goodbye. "We'll be back in a jiffy."

"No problem," I said, watching the Champion's leave as they passed by more people who approached to greet them. Gary and I were the only ones left, staring at each other's faces.

"I never knew my Dad was famous," I said, attempting to put a conversation between us. For some reason, even the Champions from other regions know Dad. He told me Alder and Cynthia were the only ones he was acquainted with, and he told me I was responsible for Cynthia talking to him, and his teacher Mao was responsible for him acquainting with Alder.

"Well a month ago no one would have known your Dad," Gary said casually, but then tensed up, as though he said something he shouldn't be saying.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not letting the opportunity pass.

"Hey look, isn't that Grimsley, the Unovan Elite Four?" He pointed at someone amongst the crowd. As he pointed out, I noticed a man with a blue hair, and a strange cunning smirk on his face sit beside a woman with long dull-grey hair, and a bald man with a small red bush of a hair in the front.

My memory immediately recognized them. "That's Karen from Johto, and Sidney from Hoenn!" I exclaimed. All the three dark-type Elites gathered at one place in a corner of the room.

"Let's go that way," Gary said, "We could see more of them."

I nodded without hesitation. Of course, I wouldn't let this opportunity slide by. I have to meet, and get as many autographs, from as many Elite Four as possible.

Both Gary and I briskly walked among the people, carefully avoiding bumping into the important looking people.

The backside of the hall seemed more festive than the front side. It seems the younger generation seemed to gather behind. The crowd was split into groups, each perhaps being the center for one celebrity. People generally tend to gather around the important people.

I led the way for both Gary and me. I saw Lucian for a minute with someone else, but before I could point that to Gary he disappeared. We looked around, hoping that anyone else was around. It wasn't really hard to spot twenty elite four among a hundred people right? But for some reason it was.

It was then a distant voice called our attention. "Hey Jr. Oak!"

I looked at Gary, and found him looking at a table, right next to the stage in the front. Sitting there, each in their respective white coats were the Professors of Hoenn, Johto and Sinnoh. Professor Aurea Juniper however was dressed in a sparkling blue dress.

"Ah," Gary for some reason groaned, while still maintaining a pleasant smile for them. "I really don't want to hear their corny jokes again."

"It's the Professors from every region," I pointed Gary the obvious. "I think we should probably talk with them."

"No," Gary cut me. "Don't come. You really shouldn't start a conversation with Professors during a party." His expression told me he was being serious. "Just wave them and go away. You were looking forward for this party, right?"

"What about you?" I asked.

"Forget me. I'll try finding a way out," he punched me on the shoulder. "Good Luck," he said, before waving the Professors, and walked towards them.

I noticed the Professors' eyes falling on me. I know it's impolite to not greet them properly. But I guess it's better if I listen to Gary. I waved at Professor Birch, who was scratching his beard with one hand and holding a glass with another. Noticing me, he lifted his glass as if to greet, his other hand not leaving the beard. Professor Rowan, maintained the same stern expression he always did, but he bobbed his head slightly in acknowledgment. Professor Elm had to adjust his spectacles, before he waved to me. Professor Juniper did her usual salute.

The Professors immediately fell into some kind of discussion when Gary took a chair and sat down.

That was really odd though. Gary was really a nice guy when he tries not being a jerk. It's my ego that never lets me accept that despite how many times he helped me out. I know I'd forget all this when he makes a ridiculous comment. We were friends of a different kind.

Resuming my hunt, I turned back. It didn't take me much time before I met the first batch, who happened to be three old women.

Agatha, Bertha and Glacia were seated on a couch, deeply involved in their private conversation. A couple of people occasionally greeted them, but that was about it. They really didn't have much craze as the younger Elite four did.

Noticing me approaching, Agatha smiled, "Well if it isn't my guest."

I remember Mom telling me this again and again, I am glad I remembered it. "Thank you for this opportunity, Agatha," I bowed to her.

The blonde woman beside Agatha, who was Glacia of the Hoenn Elite Four spoke, "My, aren't you a charming young one."

Agatha cackled in response to this, "He's a perfect example of how youth these days should be. Unlike that uppity brat of Samuel's."

I think Gary would be glad with his decision to not come with me.

"Hmm," the grey haired woman next to Agatha's right responded this time. "I think I remember you."

"I battled your Hippowdon with my Torterra about a year ago," I reminded her. "It's nice to see you again, Bertha."

"Ah," her eyes gleamed in recognition. "Roland played with your Pikachu, right?"

"Pika," Pikachu snuggled his way onto my shoulder and greeted her.

"Nice to see the two of you," she smiled. "Agatha told great things about you."

I could only scratch my hair in embarrassment. It was then did I notice the striking similarity between Agatha and Bertha. Without my knowledge I ended up staring at either of their faces for quite a while.

"We look alike, don't we?" Agatha asked, exchanged a glance with Bertha.

"Uh," I couldn't find anything to say. "Yeah," I forced a laugh out.

"Trust me, I'm not related to her," Bertha added. "Now," Bertha and Agatha exchanged another glance before smirking at me, deviously. "Which of us, in your opinion is better looking?"

"What?!" I exclaimed at the question. About a hundred set of eyes fell on us. "Uh, sorry," I turned around and apologized to the party in general. The wave of conversation then resumed, and people fell into their own discussions.

As I turned back, I spotted a familiar afro hair style. Two hands in his pockets, and wearing a tux more worn out than mine was Flint, the Sinnoh Elite Four. Every bit of his body language right from the wide spread grin reminds you of the word 'careless'. For some reason, seeing his face gave me a new kind of energy. He was perhaps the closest person to me, among the Elite Four. There was no way I'd leave this party without talking to him.

I turned around, and bowed to the three women, "Sorry for this, but I'll be back in a minute."

"No need to worry about us," Glacia smiled. "I bet there're more interesting faces than the three of us here."

"Thanks," I bowed once more, and walked towards Flint who stood among a group of excited young men, who were casually chatting with him.

As I left the three old women, Agatha said, "I want your answer by today evening."

I pretended not to hear the last part and moved towards the crowd around Flint.

"Hey Flint," I greeted him from the distance.

The red-haired Elite turned, his eyes immediately shone in recognition. "Ash," he pushed the people around him and came to shake my hand. "Whoa," he laughed. "I never thought I'd see you here little guy."

"I was invited by Agatha," I said, shaking my hands. "How's Volkner?"

"Perfectly fit and healthy," someone else answered. Right next to Flint amidst the people was the blonde electric gym leader Volkner. He was in his usual clothing, a blue jacket that matched with the disinterested blue eyes, he had. If Flint always had the expression 'careless' written all over him, Volkner was the walking definition of the words 'not interested'. He looked like he didn't care for anyone or anything. But I know that's the kind of expression he wears when he hated to do something. The expression he carries during his battles was fiercer, and reminded you of his Luxray.

"If you don't mind," Flint turned to the people around, and said, "Can you leave us alone for some time?

Ensuring that the people behind dispersed, Flint turned to me and grinned, "Finally, I found an interesting person in this lame party." He adjusted his bowtie, "I'm not really comfortable with this dressing and this business atmosphere."

"He actually forced me to drown in this too," Volkner said, his lips curled in what seemed like an annoyed expression.

"Well, that's the least you could do as a friend," Flint said placing an arm around and pretended to strangle Volkner. "Yo Ash," he asked me. "How are things going on your training front?"

"I'm training hard with my Dad," I said, "I'll definitely win the world tournament and the Champion's League."

"That's the spirit," Flint gave me a thumbs-up, "I'm damn sure you'll make far in this tournament. I was rooting for you in the Sinnoh League, but Tobias mowed you over."

The sour fact reminded me of my position against Tobias.

Volkner jabbed Flint with his shoulder, "You speak as if you won against him."

Flint freed his hold on the gym leader. "Hey he was strong," Flint said, "He might've beaten Cynthia if they battled."

"Why didn't they battle?" I asked. It was customary for the trainers who won the League and beat all the Elite four to challenge the Champion.

"She put the battle on a hold," Flint said, adjusting the annoying bowtie again. "I heard she had his background investigated." He shrugged, "Not sure how that went though."

Could Tobias really be strong enough to beat Cynthia? If they had battled, and had she lost, Tobias would've been the one walking in this party. The fact somehow made me shudder.

"Well," Flint said, breaking the serious atmosphere among us. "Let's forget all that and enjoy. Hey Ash, want something to drink?"

Before I could say anything, Flint whispered into my ears. "I'm not talking about Orange Juice."

Even I didn't need a second guess to tell what he meant. But Mom warned me very harshly to stay away from any kind of alcohol. I began to protest, "I—"

"Hey waiter," he called a man in a white and brown uniform, who balanced about six champagne glasses on a ceramic plate with just one hand.

"Flint," Volkner tried explaining the Fire type. "He isn't allowed to drink."

"Speaks the guy who had his first drink on his twelfth birthday," Flint didn't seem like he was willing to listen to either of us.

He took a glass from the waiter, and handed to me. I hesitated, my Mom's firm warning told me not to touch the glass. Flint pursed his lips, and glared at me, "Look, this is a party," he suddenly smiled, "We're supposed to enjoy it. Don't be so uptight." He pulled my hand and shoved the expensive looking glass.

"Uh," I stared at the glass in front of me with same amount of hesitation and doubt that Misty would have if she were asked to hold a bug type.

As I was contemplating whether I should be taking the drink or not, I didn't realize a middle-aged man approached us. "Holding wine already?" He spoke with sarcasm.

The said man looked around forty-five or so. He wore a traditional white over red Japanese Hakama. He looked ridiculously out of place with all the modern dressing around, but he didn't seem to care. His hair, which was black with slight traces of white, was long enough to reach his shoulders. His eyebrows were narrowed upon me in a frown, and the grey eyes looked at me as if I saw some kind of low-life that deserved to be hated by him.

To say it in one sentence, this man intimidated me.

"Oh shit," I heard Flint mutter behind me. Okay, so this man was supposed to be feared I guess.

The man spoke after a cold pause, "Of course, what else could you expect from Alexander Ketchum's son?"

"What?" Surprise and anger both hit me at the same time. Surprise as for who the heck he was, and if he had any relation with Dad. Anger because he managed to insult both me and my Dad in just one sentence.

"My," he looked down upon me, as if he was studying some kind of new species. "You have terrible manners too. Who in the world let undeserving cheaters to a place like this?"

"What did you say?" I stepped closer to the old man throwing a glare. There was a fine limit in giving respect to an elderly person, if he keeps slandering you.

"How dare you raise your voice against me," he shot me a glare back. His glare then softened, as he turned back. "Like father like son."

That's it. Whoever he could be, he's trying to piss me off, and I'll tell him it's a bad idea. "I won't let you insult my Dad again." My fists clenched on their own, forgetting everything else. Forgetting that I was in the midst of a party.

Something cracked between my hands. The glass filled with wine was cracking apart, and the contents were escaping down, dripping onto the marble flooring.

Anger was slowly taking control of me. I felt like a different person, unlike the Ash Ketchum I knew till now. This was a complete new side of me, the side that wants to protect my Dad. I hated my Dad, but still he's _my_ Dad. Only _I_ have the right to insult him.

The older man took my hate as a challenge and glared me back. His actions caused my ego to flare up at once. I opened my mouth to say something I would regret later but—

"Cut it out, Ash!" A sharp voice snapped me out of the anger.

My eyes shot at the man who dared to interrupt me, but froze when it identified the person who did it.

"Dad?" I was stunned to see him, frowning at me in disappointment.

He turned to the old man who disturbed us. "I'm sorry for my son's behavior," he muttered slowly.

My behavior? I wasn't the one to call and insult him.

"But Dad—" I began to protest.

Dad threw me the most dangerous of his glares and said, "Shut up," he hissed, uttering the two words slowly as if to hammer them into my mind.

Why am I getting scolded for defending him? I hate this man. I try to shield his respect, and he insults me before this guy for that? Who the heck was—

"Please Ash," Dad whispered slowly, "Understand the situation."

"Uh," I didn't study his face properly at first but he seemed to be sad for some reason. I know my Dad, and he must be even more infuriated when someone just talked about him like that. Was this man someone important?

"I never thought I would see your sorry face again," the old man in Hakama spoke. "Not in a place like this."

I didn't fail to notice the influx of anger inside Dad. But beyond that I saw a responsible man, who knew it wasn't time to be a slave to his anger. And here I was, being a little child and falling for the old man's taunts.

"I'm sorry too," I bowed down. "I was out of line," I apologized.

There was a smile on Dad's face. I guess I did a good job imitating his judgment.

"A class act," the old man however was far from forgiving. "But I will never be able to forgive you, Alex," he said snorting.

But then someone spoke, "Give him a break, Clarke."

"Jason," Dad muttered. Standing in the direction where my Dad looked was a blonde man in mid-twenties. He wore a soothing smile, kind eyes that were half-scolding the old man.

"Jason Valentine," the old man's attention was completely shifted to the blonde prince-like guy. He scoffed, "So you support this man after he tainted Rosenburg?" He nodded at Dad accusingly.

"I'm one of those who believe he's innocent," Jason said, neither frowning nor raising an eyebrow in the process. "But even so, you shouldn't be picking on him like that. It'd be nice of you, if you simply ignore him and go your own way."

The old man was visibly hurt, but he couldn't yell back when Jason was being courteous. He opened his mouth to say something but closed again and simply snorted. Watching him so helpless made me smirk.

The old man noticed this. He turned around, giving me a final and warning glare. 'I-will-wipe-that-smirk-off-your-face' it translated.

I widened my smirk at this saying 'Bring-it-on'.

Dad exchanged a glance with Jason, after which he left a sigh. Jason simply smiled and nodded, before lifting his glass. "Let's get back to the party, people. The old man Goodsho will be here soon."

The people around who stopped whatever they were doing and stared at the commotion turned around and resumed their conversation with double the excitement.

I checked the time in Dad's watch. It was 11:50 A.M. It's been fifty minutes since we came to the party, and I already feel tired. Mr. Goodsho was never this late, right?

"Are you hurt?" Dad asked, as he stooped to check the hand that held the broken glass.

Other than a small gash, I was perfectly fine. "No," I muttered.

"Pikapi," Pikachu growled, worried.

"It's all right, little guy," Dad said, as he turned his back at us. "Your trainer's a wonderful boy."

I laughed at this. "So you acknowledge me, _now_?" After all that?

"I always acknowledged you," Dad said, without facing us. "I wouldn't have let myself train you, if you weren't good enough. Now if you give me a minute…" he grumbled before taking one of the exits to the garden behind.

Neither Pikachu nor I bothered to follow Dad. After that, anyone would want to be alone.

"I'm sorry Ash," the red haired me apologized. "I didn't think he of all would come here."

"Who was he anyway?" I asked. Flint was no way responsible for what happened. That guy just wanted a reason to pick a fight with me.

There was surprise on Flint's face, but he replied anyway, "Veteran Trainer Clarke. He's participating in the Champion's League for the third time. He's quite an orthodox trainer. He hates your Dad for all that Pokérus thing."

"Pokérus?" Terror swept across my face. I learnt what Pokérus was, from Professor Oak way before I began my journey. It's a virus that powered up a Pokémon's skills abruptly, but the Pokémon wouldn't live long after that. What kind of relation does my Dad have with Pokérus?

"Oh wait," Flint's eyebrows twitched. "You don't know that?"

Volkner smacked his head, "Way to go, Flint."

"Hey," Flint exchanged a wary glance with Volkner before turning to my pale face. "Look Ash. I'm really sorry," Flint was really uncomfortable with the turn of events. He kept scratching his afro hair and grinned sheepishly. "I didn't know—"

"It's fine," I muttered, "Really. But tell me what you know about my Dad?" I requested the Elite.

"Eh," he sighed. "What a pain," he then scolded himself. "I deserve it though. I'm not good at spreading rumors; I'll tell you what I heard. Your Dad was accused of injecting his Pokémon with Pokérus. Five of his Pokémon were caught during the test."

He paused, letting me take in the information. "They banned him from all kinds of Pokémon tournaments."

My mind was blank. I couldn't find anything to think, nor to speak. The news just left me empty.

So, the reason he came back after all these years was this? I found myself in immersed in multiple emotions. But one stood among others.

My Dad's innocent.

I know this for sure. I've seen how he even treated wild Pokémon with love. There was no way he would let his Pokémon expose to something so dangerous just to win his goal. At least, I won't. I remember Mom saying this; she told me we were alike. Then it means my Dad won't do something horrible like that either

"Attention everyone!"

The rapid thoughts that filled my empty brain were stopped. A deep silence enveloped in the party. Even the music system was turned off.

The stage which was quite empty till now was occupied by a group of twelve-fifteen people. Standing amidst all of them was Cynthia and Goodsho, the hosts.

"I apologize for being late," Goodsho was wiping the sweat off his forehead as he spoke. The Air Conditioners were perfectly fine, I noticed. "I had uh, a little problem on the way. Anyway, I happen to make this party as a gathering place for all the Elite Four and Champion. Upon my friend Scott—" he paused to let a familiar short man come up to the center. "Upon Scott's suggestion, I thought it would be for the best if we let a couple of board members, Professors, and two guests for each Elite."

He took a sheet of paper from his pocket, and glanced at it once before speaking, "Firstly, I would be happy to say that this world tournament happens to be the biggest tournament that one might ever witness. About thirty thousand trainers have already registered for the tournament. And we expect ten thousand more by the end of the year."

A collective gasp was heard across the hall. The highest any tournament I participated in was around two hundred or so. Forty thousand makes it two hundred times a bigger tournament. Although it's justified because anyone with any amount of experience could participate in the tournament. Even those with zero badges can participate if they have six Pokémon.

"The tournament will be held in seven stages, or to use the correct terminology, Tiers.

The seventh tier will be a tournament between all the forty thousand odd trainers who would register for the tournament. The selected few will be processed to tier six. The winners of this move onto tier five, where they will be joined by official Gym Leaders, who would receive direct entry into the tier. In Tier two, the Elite Four will join us, and finally the tier one will be a grand tournament where the best of the best in the world would face with the champions of each region. Before me move on to the introductions, I thank the board members of the P.L.A for this wonderful opportunity. I'm a fan of good Pokémon battles, and we'll see around a million of them in the upcoming year. This tournament will be a revolution. I would be happy to speak about P.L.A a bit before we move on.

We have fifty board members, including myself, of which two of them couldn't attend this party due to various constraints. P.L.A began as a small association seventy eight years ago in Kanto. I was a seventeen year old brat when it all began," he stopped to chuckle. "I made small time tournaments in Viridian. I thought, why not start something big?

I collected three great trainers, Eric Waterflower, a water type master, Masara Oak, from Pallet Town and my brother, Adrian Goodsho and named them Gym Leaders.

What began as a simple challenge to invite strong trainers grew bigger. We received recognition. The numbers of leaders rose to five, and then to eight. Indigo Plateau has always been my favorite center for tournaments.

We slowly expanded to Hoenn, Sinnoh, Johto, Hoenn and Unova. I make it a point to visit all the tournaments to watch those wonderful battles, and I still do so. The Champions League that take place once in ten years began sixty years ago.

The first tournament was held in Indigo Plateau between the four champions of five regions. We slowly expanded it and shifted the P.L.A base to the Rose-Red Island. The Rosenburg culture began right after. People spent years in the island, training for the tournament. The green island has now become a hub for talented trainers." Goodsho paused, for a while as he sipped on a glass of water.

I took this chance to see where my Dad was. He wasn't here. Was he still outside?

Everyone else was seriously immersed listening to what Goodsho said. I'll just wait a bit before checking out.

"This new mega tournament however will be the first ever world tournament." Goodsho resumed his speech. "Champion's League has always been a tournament for a select few, but the PWT as I would prefer to call it, is a much bigger stage. We spent around 200 billion PokéDollars, on building the new facilities.

Five grand stadiums, each representing the respective Leagues in Indigo Plateau, Mt. Silver, Ever Grande, Lily of the Valley and Higaki* have been built. We made contract with around 700 world famous brands for putting their stalls out in the city. League buildings have been built all around each stadium complex for participants' residence. Additionally about ninety private hotels are under construction for the visiting audience. The organization is devoted to Pokémon, the profits from the league will be utilized for funding League authorized Day care, and talent scholarships are given to trainers with less means to fund themselves to travel to long distance regions like Unova from Kanto."

Meanwhile as Goodsho continued, Volkner and Flint were murmuring to each other. "What do you think about it man? The numbers sound too good and all."

"I'm going to fall asleep," Volkner really looked drowsy. He looked like he was going to drop any moment. "Wake me when they're serving lunch," he walked to the nearest chair, sat down and instantly fell down asleep.

"That guy," Flint chuckled at his attitude. "He never changes. This speech really sucks though."

I had other things to do. It doesn't seem like Goodsho's speech was getting anywhere close to interesting. "Flint, I'm going to search for my Dad."

"Sure," he said. "The Elite Four introductions will be up soon after that. Be quick, okay?"

I nodded, "I'll be back in a flash," I said heading outside into the balcony.

It didn't take me much time to find my old man.

He was there, standing in the balcony watching the trees and lush greenery around. Not a single soul was seen outside, as all of them were immersed in Goodsho's speech.

He gave me a momentary glance as I walked up to him, and returned back to watching nothing. I didn't speak anything either. I mimicked his pose, and did what he did, watch the greenery.

The soft wind played with my hair. Pikachu purred softly, as he enjoyed the gentle breeze. I stroke his back slowly, as he purred again and cuddled into my arms.

I finally broke the silence, "I heard it from Flint."

He remained silent at first, but threw in a wry smile after a while. "Took you long enough to learn," he mused. I could still see the sadness in his eyes that he wanted to hide from me.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, narrowing my eyes on a particular Rattata that just peeped out of a tree hole. It fervently looked around, and scurried away to some destination. "I wanted it to come from you. Flint revealed it accidentally."

Dad grunted at this, "It's not a big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal, Dad," I said, "You left us for becoming a Pokémon Master. You were forced to turn back from that road now."

I observed his grip on the railing becoming tighter. All the emotions he hid from me all these days seemed to pile up into his face. "I'm a total failure Ash," he declared after a vindictive pause. "As a father, as a husband and even a trainer. Hundreds of trainers, maybe even you, would've hated me if the news had been leaked to media."

"I still hate you," I said, "But I understand you. Maybe I'd have left my wife too."

He smiled and asked, "You would?"

"Maybe not," I sighed. "I don't even know what I'm talking."

I have no idea what is it like to have a wife, son and be a Pokémon Master at the same time. "But I know one thing," my eyes narrowed onto Dad, who looked into mine. "I'm not going to forgive if anyone tries to do wrong things to stop me from being a Pokémon Master.

He seemed to be caught off-guard because he gawked for a second. "Do you think I was framed?"

"Yes," I said firmly.

"How can you be so sure?" Dad asked. "A lot of my Pokémon were caught with the virus, and thrown into Quarantine. Maybe I was scared that I didn't have any chance against the Elites. Maybe I wanted to take the short—"

"The Road to be a Pokémon Master doesn't have any shortcuts, Dad," I cut in, "If there were, you would've taught me already."

He seemed to be disturbed by my comment. "Why're you so keen on siding with the guy who abandoned you for ten whole years?" He looked frustrated. Frustrated because I was trying to side with him? Strange.

"Why're you so keen on convincing me otherwise?" I demanded. "Why don't you let me handle the truth, instead of hiding it from me?"

"Because," he paused, and started biting his nails, the pressure was catching up to him. He then looked at me with a guilty face, like that of a kid who secretly took a candy without his mom's knowledge. "Then you might think I'm using you to exact revenge."

"You _are_ using me to exact revenge," I said, "It's the truth, and it's not wrong either."

"It's not wrong?" Dad laughed in derision, "A father comes after abandoning his son for ten years, only to use him to exact revenge. Yeah sounds great."

"It's the truth," I said glaring my father back with confidence, "Like you said, you're a terrible father. But you're a good mentor, and you can still be a good husband."

Dad flinched at that. Even I'm surprised at the kind of things I was talking about. I had thought about this for a long time, and this was what I believed. "And Dad, just because you're a terrible father doesn't mean you're a terrible person. I want to say this," I paused, "You are my hero. I want to be like you. Strong, confident, and kind, that's what you are, and I believe you. You'll never treat your Pokémon with a virus that could kill it."

The man who always mocked me, hit me on my head, and constantly exuded confidence went pale and was dumbfounded. "Ash…" he looked at me like I was a new species of Pokémon.

I laughed nervously, "I think I'm not being me today." I'm talking things way beyond me. I'm talking like smarty pants Gary would. "I am—" Something happened before I could complete the sentence.

Dad pulled me into a bone-cracking hug. I was startled at first, but understood it was real when he leaned his head against mine. The sudden embrace made me uncomfortable, but I decided to let it slide for now. "Thank you," his voice shook as he said the words.

A tear trickled down his face. "What's this, Dad?" I asked mockingly as I caught the droplet, and showed it to him. "Men don't cry, do they?" I asked.

Dad rose back, freeing me from his hug. He wiped his tears and said, "I hate you when you get all cocky kid."

"Sorry," I smirked. "I got that from my Dad."

Either of us laughed at that. Pikachu joined us in the same.

"Really," Dad said, still chuckling, "You really made my day, Ash. You might be like me in all other aspects, but you have your Mom's understanding side too. It makes you a great man. Far greater than I ever could be."

In that case, "I'm going to prove the whole world Dad," I said, "I'll win the World Tournament, and tell my Dad's not guilty."

The sunlight seemed to intensify, or was the glow coming from my Dad's face? Either way, he looked a lot brighter than a second ago.

"That's the spirit," a new voice intruded our solace.

The pack of muscles called Bruno stood behind us, his arms folded, and a smile on his face. "You did a better job than me, Ash."

I scratched my hair in embarrassment. Dad however asked, "What're you doing here? Isn't Goody back?"

"They're doing the intros now," Bruno said, "I just finished mine."

"Whoa," I exclaimed. I promised Flint to return before the intros began. "I gotta go, Dad."

I didn't give them a second glance. Dad and Bruno seem to be good friends.

A voice boomed through the speakers as I went into the banquet hall. Cynthia stood by the stage, playing the announcer. "Lastly, we've Reynolds, the new Elite Four of Johto, and user of the Steel Type."

A green haired trainer stepped on the stage amidst applause. He raised his arms in response, and began his own speech.

"You're late, Ash," Flint caught me from behind. I gave him an apologetic smile, but it seems he didn't pay it much attention. He leaned down and whispered, "How did it go?"

"Better than I thought," I gave a thumbs-up.

"Good," Flint seemed really happy. He was perhaps worried if he damaged the relation between us father and son.

It was bumpy to begin with, so it didn't matter.

The clapping began once more as Reynolds, finished his speech.

"Thank you, Reynolds," Cynthia said as he left. "That's the complete set of elite four from the five regions. That should end today's conference, but it seems everyone's favorite event will be delayed. The staff has just relayed there'll be a slight delay for the lunch. Thank you for being patient," she added with an enchanting smile before leaving the stage.

"Hey Ash," Flint tapped on my back. "Since the boring part is over, let me show you something cool." He had a playful smile on his lips.

Ah, so he had something interesting up his sleeve.

"Let's go," he caught my hand and led me towards a particularly crowded table.

"Whoa, what's going on?" I asked.

"You'll love this Ash," Flint assured me. He pushed some of the people apart.

A purple haired guy sat in the midst. "Alright, who's gonna play next." He said impatiently shuffling the stack of cards, not faltering even once in the process of doing so.

Surprisingly Volkner was sitting on one of the chairs. He noticed us approaching and so did the guy, who was the Psychic Elite Four Will.

Will wore strange glasses that hid his facial expression. But he had a strange smile on his face when he saw Flint. "Alright, Mr. Hot Head wants to play. And you—" he paused, looking in my direction or not. I was unsure.

"You little boy," he nodded in my direction. "Did Persian got your tongue?"

"Me?" I asked.

"Yeah you," he held the stack on one hand and ran his thumb over the cards one by one. "Hmm," he paused, looking at the stack strangely. "One of my cards is missing."

He turned to me, "Boy, give it back."

"What?" Why would I have his card?

"So you say," he stood up and approached me. He took my hat as I stepped back, and took a card out of it. He showed it to the people around, "Oh look, what does this boy have?"

"Eh!" I exclaimed. I don't remember since when I started carrying a card in my hat.

The crowd however started clapping, as Will took his place on the chair. "Now, what's your name boy?" He asked, as he reshuffled the cards quickly with skill.

"Ash," I said after slight hesitation. It took me a while to realize that was a trick.

"Ash, Hot Head and spiky head," he put the stack on the table. "Each of you take a card and don't show it to me, I'll guess them for you."

Flint smirked at his pet name, while Volkner pursed his lips. Either of them took a card wordlessly. I did the same.

I looked at my card. It was four of spades. I held the card tightly, just in case he used some kind of magic to steal a glance.

Flint and Volkner seemed to do the same. All three of us stared at Will.

"Alright," he said snapping his fingers. He pointed at Flint and said, "Hot head got the Hot Queen of hearts," he then turned to me and said, "Four of spades," and finally rested on Volkner, "You got the Joker of Diamonds."

The surprise on my face gave away that he was correct. Flint grinned before putting the card back. Volkner looked at his card, and put it back on the table, not even raising an eyebrow in the process. He simply wasn't interested.

"You're hard to impress eh, spiky?" Will said, taking the cards back.

"I saw a lot of these tricks," Volkner said, resting his hand on his cheek.

"You want something new?" Will asked, and answered without giving any gap for Volkner to answer. Not that he bothered to do that. "Let me show my best trick. Something only I can—"

"Ashton!"

Something huge came from behind and wrapped its hands around me. Judging by the hairy arms, and the way he called me, I guessed who it was. "Alder?" I looked back, only to meet with Alder's smile that would fit well with a toothpaste endorsement.

"Hey Wilson," Alder said to the purple haired Elite Four. "I'm borrowing the boy for a second."

Will winced for a second. It was natural for anyone being called by the wrong name. However he recovered and was saying, "By all me—"

Alder didn't wait for him to complete. The next thing I was dragged out of the crowd like a disobedient Bouffalant. "Hey, what's the big deal?" I asked, because it was the natural thing to do.

Alder paused, giving me a chance to stand straight. "Just a small favor," Alder said, "I need you to go talk with her." He pointed at a couple of flowers—

Oh wait, that was actually a woman wearing two flowers as an ornament. Were they real or plastic was the first doubt that crossed my mind. She was dark-skinned, and her dress seemed scanty, even by the party's standards. Her clothes consisted of a cloth wrapped around her chest, and a gown (or should I call it a towel?) that exposed one of her thighs.

She was Phoebe, the Ghost-type Elite Four from Hoenn. "Why her?" I asked, even though I had a good idea what his answer would be.

"Just go and talk to her," he insisted.

"What should I talk?" I asked, obviously finding this favor distasteful. At least Brock didn't use me for things like this.

Alder frowned and asked, "What would you, if I weren't around?"

I thought for a while. I remember I had to take the autographs from everyone. I think it's better to start it sooner than later.

"Fine," I growled before heading my way towards her.

There was yet another woman beside Phoebe, she wore a purple clothing that matched her short purple hair, and wore round glasses that were obviously too big for her little brown eyes. She was shivering as Phoebe told her something.

"Really?!" Her squeal made my heart skip a beat. She noticed me coming at the same time, and nudged Phoebe.

"Phoebe and Shauntal," I greeted the ghost type Elite Four. "It's an honor to meet you." I took the pocket-sized book and pen Dad shoved into my pants earlier this morning. "Can you—"

"Ashton!"

Of course.

Alder interrupted me, and patted my head as if I was his Bouffalant. "Now aren't you a charming little girl, Phoebe. This little guy badly wanted your autograph," he said pulling the book and pen out my hand.

Phoebe looked surprised at Alder's behavior. Apparently he was hitting her for the first time. I wonder how Shauntal would react to her Champion's antics. I turned to where the woman once stood—

The said woman no longer stood there. She disappeared the second Alder barged in. I wonder what she had been through to run like that.

Phoebe was confused, but she took the book and signed on it. She prepared to hand it to me, but Alder came in between us. "So—" he took the book from her hand, turned around, shoved the book into my hands, and shooed me away like I was some kind of Bouffalant that just barged into his garden. "I've heard you lived in Mt. Pyre," He asked as I put the cap back onto the pen and began to leave.

I didn't hear the rest, but I bet I won't like it either.

"He never changed does he," something that obstructed my view spoke. A red-haired woman stood in my way. She wasn't a figure to ignore either. Because she was Lorelei Prima, the Ice type Elite Four.

"Hey Prima," I greeted her. "Long time no see."

She stared at me for a while and smiled, "Yeah, how's Misty doing?"

Whoa, she remembered Misty? I mean, I don't want to insult Misty or anything but she wasn't that famous enough—

"We met in Four Island last year," Prima said, sending an Ice Beam down my ego-blazing head. "That girl really has potential."

Why the heck didn't I know about this?!

Misty hardly mentioned about it. Speaking of which, I hardly spoke anything to her. The mistake was on my side. Man, I should go and apologize to her.

"She's working hard for the upcoming League," I said.

"Of course," Prima nodded as if it was trivial. "I told her I would give my post if she beat me in the world tournament."

"What?!" This time a blizzard struck me. Since when did Misty go as far as talk Prima into _this_?

"My," she adjusted her glasses, staring my frozen face. "You look surprised. She didn't tell you about this?"

"Sorry, I've been in Unova last year," I apologized for no reason.

"Ah," she nodded. "By the way," she took something out of the large purse she carried. "Do you mind buying my lecture video?" She asked. "It's only nine PokéDollars."

Nine?! That's actually too much for a lecture video. I looked at the C.D cover which said, 'Techniques and Skills you need to be a gifted trainer by Lorelei Prima.'

So that's why she started a conversation with me? And here I thought she actually wanted to talk with me. First Alder, and now her, it seems everyone have their own selfish reasons.

I said, "I'd like to buy but," and quoted Dad, "We're on a tight budget this month."

"Oh," Prima pretended to be surprised while she was actually disappointed. "That's fine. See you sometime soon." She waved me a goodbye and left. I actually wanted to ask her an autograph, uh, never mind.

"Musing at how selfish the world is?"

Who is it this time?

It was Scott actually. "Hey Scott!" I greeted the Battle Frontier's owner.

"Hey," he gave me a handshake. "Can you come with me for once?" He asked.

"Uh sure," I said, and followed him. "So," I tried to begin a conversation. "I heard it was your idea to start a grand tournament instead of the usual one."

"Yeah," Scott said half-listening. He seemed to be having something in his mind. I decided to drop the conversation.

We stopped before two men in business suits. It was then Scott spoke, "Ash," he introduced me to the important looking men I'd normally ignore. "Meet Mr. Hardman, CEO of Bulk-men enterprises. You must've heard of the 'Proteins' they make."

I actually didn't. I shook hands with him anyway. He then showed to the next person. "Mr. Ring Splice," he said pointing to the other person who was as short and as plump as Scott was. "He's the Finance Manager."

"Nice to meet you, Ash," the so-called manager said faking a smile.

"Ash's an upcoming trainer," Scott said, giving me a brief intro. He then turned to me, "Ash would you mind sharing your experiences with the Battle Frontier?"

"Why not," I said. Battle Frontier was actually one of the most interesting challenges I had. "It's awesome! Those frontier brains were really cool. I don't think I've been ever tested like that before.

Defeating Brandon and Annabel was the biggest challenges I had. I really liked all those facilities. I mean, in Spencer's battle field you gotta run along with your Pokémon. That's really cool, right?" I asked.

Oops. Didn't I just go overboard? Scott told me to share my experiences, I ended up speaking nonsense. But that's because I really liked taking part in the Frontier. The whole challenge was amazing.

"I must say I'm impressed Scott," the shorter man said after a pause.

"Trainers _love_ my Frontier," Scott said. "I picked the right Frontier Brains and gave them the right facilities. You've just seen Ash's earnest speech."

Am I missing something, or does this conversation—

"We're taking your offer," the CEO guy said. "We'll make further discussions in the chambers." He nodded to the manager, before leaving.

The shorter guy shook hands with Scott and left us. Scott on his part looked very happy. He patted on my shoulder and said, "You just helped me get a twenty million PokéDollar investment in my new Johto Battle Frontier."

I stared at Scott's face for a second, and asked, "What?"

Scott checked his watch. "I've an important meeting," he said. "If you need anything," he smiled. "Contact me on my PokéNav."

Alright that was uh, weird. I better go find Flint before things get crazy or so I thought but, when I went back to Will's table, Flint and Volkner were missing, and Will was busy entertaining someone else.

"Man, where did he go?" I wondered for a while. He was nowhere in the hall or in the balcony.

Alder was still hitting on Phoebe. I briefly saw Drake, who waved to me from a distance. Lance, Steven and Wallace were surrounded by too many girls. Cynthia was chatting with Goodsho and a couple of important looking people. But there was no sign of Flint.

How the heck did he just disappear? While pondering about where the Elites went, I stumbled across the table that had the three Elite Four.

I was kinda surprised how I ended up standing before them.

"My, do we have a lost bird here?" The grey haired Karen asked, with a slick smile on her lips.

"Hey Kid, wanna join us?" Sidney asked, showing me to an empty chair. "Grimsley's telling a story."

I accepted the offer. It wasn't every day you could sit and chat leisurely with three Elite Four.

"So," Grimsley continued something he stopped before I came. "I decided to walk right into the alley. I thought there was something in there. I just couldn't see it. But I felt it." He looked into my eyes with a distant stare that sent a chill down my spine. "I thought it was some damn Pokémon. I walked in, anticipating that it would attack me from any direction and—

Bang!" Grimsley's cry made me jump out my seat. He then whispered in a dark tone. "It _was_ a damn Pokémon.

"Boring," Karen said with distaste, sipping onto her wine. "Lemme tell you my story."

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, I came out of Dark Elite's group meeting, with hair that was shot up into spikes like a Cyndaquil's flame, a heart that was beating faster than it should, and legs that shook as I walked.

I'd never ever be terrified by Ghost stories, not after hearing those 'dark' stories.

I looked at the pocket-book in my hand, and the three new signatures in it. Well, I did get something out of it.

I walked absent-mindedly, still reminiscing of the gothic creature Karen described. I don't know if it really existed, but I'm pretty sure anyone would wet their pants when they see it.

Wait.

What if Sidney said was true? What if everyone who heard the story would really be haunted by the creature? Even imagining that was hair-rising.

Nah. Those creatures only exist in stories. I mean, something wouldn't—

I halted.

Something soft touched my shoulder. I felt five firm fingers on my shoulders. What if, it was the mysterious creatures? The thought scared me out of my wits.

"Yeow!" I jumped in fear as I turned back to hit the creature that threatened me mortally.

Watching me shriek in fear caused the 'thing' behind me jumped, equally terrified. "Aiyeee!" A characteristic female shriek came out through it slips, as it landed on her back.

"Shauntal?" I blinked at the terrified Elite four.

The terrified woman collected herself. I lent her an arm, and yanked her awake.

"I'm really sorry," she bowed in apology, which was quite uncomfortable considering that she's an Elite Four.

"Hey you needn't apologize for that," I tried comforting her. This really worked, because she seemed elated.

"Thank you," she said. To be honest, I don't understand why would a ghost type Elite Four be so timid? Not only that, she was actually few inches taller than me, so it's not like I had an intimidating appearance.

"Um," she was hesitating to say something. She finally broke after fidgeting for a while, "I need a favor from you."

Well finally someone who actually asks for a favor instead of forcing you to do it. I liked that for a change. "What is it?" I asked, giving her my best innocent boy smile.

"Um," she looked around nervously. "I've just completed my manuscript on a story. It's um, about the story of two young men who took separate paths in their lives, um," she handed me the book.

"Uh," I looked at the book, strangely. "Should I be reading it?"

"Well," she looked at me helplessly.

Oh great.

I flipped the pages open. I began reading what was written over there.

_"'Do you know Thunderbolt?' was his first greeting to me. It wasn't until after we battled that I learned his name was Volkner."_

"Wait a minute," I stared at her. "It's about Volkner?"

"And Flint," she said. "Well, what I wanted to ask you is, um, I need to talk to Flint and Volkner. Well, you, um, seem to know them so…"

"Why don't you do that yourself?" I asked, bluntly. I didn't mean it in a disrespectful fashion though.

"Um," she mumbled something. "I never talked with them so, um…"

She has no problem talking with me?

"Alright," I agreed to help. I still don't understand what her problem is though. "I'm searching for them anyway."

"I actually know where they're," she said. "They're in the swimming pool."

"Okay," I said getting my fighting spirit up. "Let's go!"

* * *

I never expected to see a swimming pool over here.

The so-called resort was actually a lot bigger than I thought. The swimming pool complex was beyond the garden. There were two pools, one large one with varying depths, and one small one for little children.

Shauntal stopped at a distance, and hid herself behind a tree.

"Why are you hiding over here?" I asked, attempting to drag her out.

"No way!" She hissed, and pulled her hand back. She was sweating profusely, and her face seemed slightly red. "I want you to talk to them. I just want to observe their personality, that's all."

"Huh," I scratched my hair in confusion. "Alright," I accepted after some hesitation.

I walked up to the pool, which was mostly empty except for two certain men, Volkner and Flint.

"Yo, Ash," Flint greeted me. Flint was trying some flips in the water before I came, while Volkner watched him with interest. They paused whatever they were doing when they saw me. "Wanna dive in?"

I had to be as natural as possible for the sake of Shauntal. Basically, I have to forget that she was peeping on us. "Sure," I said with glee.

I removed my not-so-expensive tux and threw it on the ground, before jumping into the pool with a loud splash. "We should've done this in the first place," I said.

"Well," Volkner answered, "Flint had his boring introduction to do."

I have to admit, of all the people in the party, I actually liked to be with these two. Even they seem to take a liking to my presence. I think I might have made good friends with some people up in the Elites. Dad would be proud. "Why isn't anyone else here?" I asked.

"Everyone will be up in the pool once Lunch's over," Flint said, as he dove back in. He surfaced up, and said, "I prefer to be with my friends than people I don't know." He looked at me for a while and grinned, "That includes you, Ash!" He said paddling a good amount of water on my face.

"Hey!" I was taken in by the sudden water attack. I decided to take my revenge by splashing water on him instead.

* * *

Shauntal was elated. Flint and Volkner were exactly in-character with her manuscript's Flint and Volkner. This means, she needn't worry about OOCness, and it's quite a gift for any author in the world.

She decided it was for the best if she included the scene before her as an epilogue. Except she would replace Ash with her female Main Character. She opened her manuscript and began scribbling something onto it. What she didn't notice, while she was deeply engrossed in her writing was a curious Rattata that meekly approached her, and tried to climb her leg.

Naturally, the reaction was explosive.

* * *

"Aiyeeee!"

The chilling shriek sent a shiver down my spine twice. Once because of the shriek itself, and the second when I realized what the consequences were.

I looked back and found Shauntal clumsily escape from a Rattata, and fall down in the process. I smacked my head involuntarily.

"What's the meaning of this, Ash?" Flint asked, with eyes narrowed on me.

"Well," I admitted my guilt. "She said she wanted to observe both of your personalities or something. She's writing a novel on both of you. She told me to help her because she was too shy to meet you."

"Shy?" Flint laughed at that.

Shauntal knowing that her game was up came towards the pool and bowed, "I'm extremely s-sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"If you really wanted to learn about us," Flint grinned, "You could've asked me."

"Really?" Shauntal asked, stunned by Flint's words.

"Oi, Flint." Volkner frowned, "Don't include me in this."

"Ignore him," Flint told her, "I really want to read what you wrote about us."

"Eh?" Shauntal looked terrified, her face turning red. "I-I don't…um, is it okay?" She took out her manuscript, and handed it to him.

Flint dried his hands with a towel, and took the manuscript. "I better read it before anyone else does right?"

Flint's a kind guy, I noticed. Despite his looks, he never refused to help anyone. I still remember what he said back in Sinnoh.

_"Only those who earnestly want to win can keep winning."_

"Still, Shauntal is really bad at sneaking," I muttered laughing to myself as I watched the two from afar. Volkner joined them after Flint revealed something interesting, and the three began reading the story together.

"Shall I show what real sneaking is, then?"

A voice whispered into my ears.

I jerked my head back only to see three people standing behind me.

"Koga?" I stared at the Elite Four who was once a gym leader. Standing beside him was the woman I knew very well, his sister Aya and to his right was—

"She's my daughter, Janine," Koga introduced realizing I didn't know her.

The said woman, who had a purple hair, simply shifted her gaze away from me.

"I apologize for her behavior," Aya said, "My niece has terrible manners."

"Oh," the purple haired girl sneered at her aunt. "Says the woman who got rejected thrice because of bad manners."

"Now, now," Koga placed an arm on each one of them. "We don't want to give bad publicity about our family do we?"

Aya and Janine continued to glare at each other, before throwing their looks in different directions.

"Ash," Koga shifted his attention to me, "I've heard about your exploits in the Unova League, especially I heard that you got the Toxic Badge from their gym leader."

The Toxic Badge? Oh, I still remember that gym. The gym leader gave me unfair advantage and let me win actually. "The gym leader put herself a handicap," I admitted, "But yeah, that gym was awesome. Roxie's amazing."

Janine and Aya shifted their attention to me as I mentioned Roxie's name. Did something go wrong between them and Roxie?

"Well actually," Koga said, "Roxie visited Kanto last year, and challenged my gym. Aya and Janine were the gym leaders in my stead and—" He looked at the women on either side, "Well let's say they lost pretty badly. So, I was wondering if you could help us in improving our gym's morale. I want my daughter and sister to beat her in the world tournament," he said. "Consider it an invitation for a rematch for my gym."

"Sure," I said. There's no way Ash Ketchum would back away from any battle invitation. "I'll definitely re-challenge your gym."

"Excellent," Koga exclaimed. "But I want you to use the same team you used against Roxie."

"We'll be waiting in Fuchsia, Ash," Aya said, and at once the three disappeared into thin air like only true ninja could.

Whoa, they just appeared like that and went poof in no time. I haven't considered this, but I could actually re-challenge all the gym leaders of Kanto. I should probably ask Dad's opinion about it.

Meanwhile, Volkner and Flint were arguing while Shauntal jotted something down. They seem to be deeply immersed in Shauntal's novel.

"Pikapi," Pikachu purred my attention. He then pointed out to a distance, where a certain blonde woman stood waving to us.

"Hey Flint," I called the fire type elite four. "Cynthia's calling us."

* * *

Well Cynthia had actually called us for lunch after that. Both Dad and I ignored the dirty looks the rest of the party threw. Nothing could stop the Ketchum from gulping down their food.

"So Koga invited me to his gym," I relayed as Dad, and I finished our lunch along with Volkner, Flint and Shauntal.

"That isn't a bad idea," Dad said, "I actually liked the concept of challenging all the gym leaders of Kanto. But you actually lost to Forrest."

"Gigalith won," I pointed. "It wasn't a complete loss."

"Excuses," Dad scoffed.

"Alright," I sighed, "I'll re-challenge him. So let's re-challenge all the gyms already!"

"Hmm," Dad nodded. "Let's start with Cinnabar Island, what do you say?"

"Sure!" I exclaimed.

The party ended soon after. There were many more fun moments, but I think I've told enough already.

I thanked Flint and Volkner for being good friends. Shauntal was happy, both Flint and Volkner accepted her story, although the latter had to be pushed by the former. I came to know that Grimsley, Karen and Sidney kept calling one lone person after the other and terrified them with fake stories. Lucian never appeared before me or in fact anyone. He kept appearing and disappearing amongst the guests, his girlfriend in his hand. I met Aaron, who shared a couple of stories of some legendary bug Pokémon called Genesect. Drake was seen with Veteran Clarke, they seemed to be good friends. Glacia, Bertha and Agatha continued to yap about the new generation young men, and warned me never to turn like that. Lorelei said her C.D was available on a discount and would well fit our budget. She conned Dad into buying the lecture video for 8.50 PokéDollar. Koga appeared somewhere in between with Janine and Aya; it seems they were giving him a tough time. Cynthia and the other champions were too busy talking with all kinds of people. Scott, being Scott kept greeting each and everyone in the party and talked business with most of them. I bet he made at least a billion worth of transaction just through words. He utilized this party to the fullest. Gary couldn't free himself from the Professors till the end.

Lastly, Phoebe slapped Alder, while Marshal had to apologize for his Sensei. Dad kept laughing all the while.

In the end, the grand conference ended. The Elite Four were left inside to talk business with Goodsho and the board members. The rest of the guests were asked to leave after that.

The magical day was finally over. I managed to get all the autographs like Dad wanted.

"Well, our next destination is Cinnabar Island then?" Dad asked, as we recuperated in the Pokemon Center.

"As I said, I want to challenge all the gyms," I declared my agenda. "It's been a while since I fought the Kanto Leaders."

"Well, we have a long way to go then," Dad smirked.

"Yup," I smiled back.

The one-year severe training throughout Kanto continues. I'm pretty sure, I'll be ten times as strong when people see me the next time. I might be exaggerating the number, but still I 'll be a lot better than what I am now. I'm gonna show Paul and the others what I am capable of.

Here I come, the Road to be a Pokemon Master!

* * *

**I did it again! **

**I wrote too big of a chapter, and rushed the ending. I promise this to be the last.**

**This chapter was extremely hard to write. I had to include almost each and every Elite Four to appear, but make the story flow naturally at the same time. It was a hard thing to do, and I think I did well. Do review your opinions!**

**And also do you hate Alex? :P **

**Finally: I would like to bring you guys to attention, my new story: When I become a Pokemon 's a pure shipping story, and won't have any Pokemon battles, but it has a lot of darkness in it!**


	9. Rival Destinies

**Mega Author's Note: Punish me for my sins. Because I broke a big promise. **

**As I was writing half-way through the chapter that involves Blaine returning, and a wonderful fight between Charizard and Magmortar (It could've been a wonderful chapter) I lost interest in it.**

**I know I was the one who made the promise when I asked your opinion that I'd continue the pre-Tournament arc a bit longer, but after re-reading my chapter, the Elite Battler's Conference, I have come to a conclusion that it is time to start the world tournament arc. Yes, it starts the next chapter. But this chapter isn't the one I promised you. To make the story flow better, I have edited the final parts of the previous chapter.**

**Mainly, the epic reunion I planned with Charizard will be removed. Why? Because the canon decided to troll me and is bringing Charizard in the new 'Best Wishes, Episode N'. Yes, Charizard will soon be back in the anime (yes, not a fanfiction) to fight Reshiram and in the upcoming movie sixteen that involves Genesect. I'm sure most of you would know, but it's a heads-up for those who don't.**

**So basically, my new chapter would be redundant if I had written it.**

**Do note that it doesn't mean, I'm not respecting your wishes! But it's still my story, and I believe I can't write the chapters well as I have lost interest in the pre-tournament arc. **

**But of course, there are still zillions of character interactions once the tournament itself starts. So it will still be epic!**

**Time for a time skip!**

**Also, Pay attention to the dates as you read! Don't blame me if you get confused :P**

* * *

**9. Rival Destinies!**

**May 14****th****, 2013**

**Countdown: 139: 13:27:48**

**Snowpoint City**

"This is really a good time in here isn't it?" Dawn said, as the jeep passed through the highway ridden with the chilling white snow, thankfully cleared off the road. She was wearing her winter outfit, a flowery-pink sweater over her usual mini-dress.

They were in Snowpoint City, a place where it snows throughout the year. The climate in here was extreme, but for a summer it's a nice place to visit.

"Well, I didn't call you to enjoy or anything," the redhead Zoey complained. "We're focusing on training Candice for the world tournament."

The woman on the wheel, Candice laughed at this. "Don't kid me Zo-Zo. You've been putting as much _kiai_ as I have been."

The blunette looked surprised. "Wow, I thought you weren't interested in battles," Dawn asked the redhead, who smiled sheepishly having caught.

"Yeah," she said, putting on a serious frown. "I heard Wallace's taking part in the tournament. I want to challenge and win against him in a battle. I'd prefer a contest battle, but this isn't the season for us."

"I have to agree," Dawn said giving a weak smile. This was indeed a bad season for contest lovers. Almost every trainer in the world was aiming to participate in the world tournament.

"Speaking of which," Zoey smiled, "I think Ash might be loving it. A world tournament is something he would drool for, right? How is his training going?"

"To be honest," Dawn said apologetically, "I haven't spoken to him in seven months. I called Pallet, but I heard he's travelling throughout Kanto. He won against seven gym leaders of Kanto in just three months. I don't know what both he and his Dad are up to, right now."

"Three months?" Zoey looked impressed. "They must be travelling a lot."

The jeep then came to a screeching halt. Dawn realized, they were now before Candice's gym. She was invited by Zoey when she told she was feeling too lonely in Twinleaf. Barry and Kenny kept her company, but the former was always pestering her about Ash, while the latter was acting weird these days. He has a crush on her, she knew, but she wanted to avoid any such thing for a few more years.

"So, how's the gym running, Candice?" Dawn asked as they stepped down.

"Ever since that old man parked his oversized pyramid over there," Candice pointed in the direction where the Snowpoint temple was. "I've been getting too many challengers. Most of them want a badge from me to get back from their depression after being wiped up by a frontier brain."

"That's," Dawn grinned. "Really tiresome, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Candice said rolling her eyes.

She looked in the direction where the Battle Pyramid stood, at a distance beyond her vision.

_'So that is where Paul has been training for the past few months.'_

She had seen Paul seven months ago and one year before that. There was a tremendous difference in his personality. He mostly remained the same grumpy kid. But he at least smiled at her when they met in Viridian City. She should probably give him a visit. Paul's more of a lonely guy, and might not like people coming for him, but he should try getting social.

"Is it okay, if I check the battle pyramid?" She asked, suddenly.

Zoey and Candice threw the girl strange looks. "What's gotten into you?" Candice asked. The keys to her gym/house was still in her hand, as she was about to open them.

"Well, I thought I'd say a hello to…" she paused, realizing what she was about to say could be interpreted in the wrong way. "Paul," she said the last word weakly.

"Who?" A mischievous smile broke on Zoey's lips.

They were making the exact interpretation that she didn't want them to. It was embarrassing. "Paul," she said once more. Without realizing it, her cheeks were going red. "It isn't anything like that, okay?" She said glaring at Zoey.

"Anything like what?" Candice joined the redhead.

"Nothing," she looked away. "Anyway, I'm going to the battle pyramid. Care to come with me?"

The girls exchanged a glance and agreed at once, "Yes."

* * *

**September 12****4h****, 2013**

**Countdown: 19: 07:35:31**

**Cerulean City**

The Cerulean Gym was as lively as ever, which wasn't quite much, unless you count the days the sensational sisters put a show.

Misty Waterflower was never the kind to be interested in manicured nails. Well she was interested in them, but not when she had her hands full with training her Pokémon.

"Gyarados," she yelled once more, "Use Giga Impact!"

The blue serpent jumped and twisted in the air completely revealing its long body. With a menacing roar, and a bone-chilling glare in its eyes, Gyarados charged at the empty pool as if an enemy stood in front. When the Pokémon struck the pool, the water ended up splashing all over the gym, but the red haired girl who ordered the attack stood unfazed.

Misty was frustrated, more than ever.

She was furious, for the past few months because a certain guy named Ash Ketchum challenged the gym, conveniently when she was in Four Island. She was invited to a meeting by Lorelei at that time.

If Ash had waited for one more day, she would have been back.

But he didn't.

Instead, he challenged her Pokémon, under Daisy's control. It obviously went bad and by the time she returned she had a newfound knowledge that her Gyarados was knocked out by an Iron Tail and Volt Tackle and her remaining two Pokémon were finished by a Servine and a Bayleef.

The news frustrated her in two ways.

"I won't forgive you," she gritted her teeth. She had two reasons to be mad at him. One, personal and one professional.

He didn't wait for _one_ day, while she cancelled all her appointments, just to meet him in their reunion after Unova. She left him alone because he had a father to deal with, but this was absolutely inexcusable.

Professionally, her pride was her hurt that her trained Pokémon lost 0-3 against him.

Either way she was too mad at Ash Ketchum, and he's going to pay for it in the world tournament that was only two weeks away from now.

* * *

**May 14****th****, 2013**

**Countdown: 139: 12:58:17**

"Well, that's the battle pyramid," Candice pointed at the giant structure. "As boring as ever."

To be honest, the structure seemed grand to Dawn. The shape of the pyramid was something anyone would symbolize as 'climbing to the top'. It's an inspirational structure for people who want to climb the ropes to be successful at whatever they wish to be. Obviously Candice didn't share the same sentiments.

A brown haired young man was seen outside, a broomstick in hand. Dawn immediately recognized him as the frontier brain's assistant, Samuel.

"Oh, it's that Sam again," Candice sighed. "Why do I have to see him every time I come this way?" It was a moot question, considering that Samuel was Brandon's assistant. It only made sense for him to be there.

"Did anything happen between the two of you?" Dawn asked, curious.

Candice put a sour face at that, while Zoey explained, "They dated for a while, and she dumped him because he's boring."

Dawn gasped, putting a hand on her mouth.

Candice scowled at Dawn's reaction. "Don't give strange reactions like that. "I really feel sorry for that, okay?" She seemed like she was trying to reassure herself than Dawn.

At that point, the said man took notice of the three girls waiting at a distance. A smile crept across his face. "Hey Candice, Zoey!" He waved to them.

"He seems alright," Dawn said, noticing his cheerful greeting.

"Which actually pisses me more," Candice pursed her lips. She didn't return the wave back.

"So," the man walked up to them. "What's up? You girls rarely come this way."

Candice rolled her eyes, making Dawn smile. Zoey was the one who did the talking. "Did you happen to see Paul?" She asked.

"Well," the frontier brain's assistant said, "Paul went south. He said, he needed to train his ice type."

Could be Weavile, Dawn thought.

"Where?" Dawn asked, making sure she didn't sound too eager.

"The woods to the south," he said, "That place's a paradise for wild ice-types, right?"

"So he wants to train his ice types in its natural habitat? That's well thought," Candice commended.

"For someone who doesn't care for his Pokémon," Zoey muttered bitterly.

The statement pricked Dawn for some reason. That was because she saw Paul in Viridian. He was trying awfully hard to be—

Like Ash. But still there was some light in Zoey's words. Paul might be trying to start thinking about what's good for his Pokémon, but could he really chalk out something like taking the Pokémon to its native habitat?

"It was Brandon's idea actually," Sam said, clearing her doubts. Paul may have changed, but he couldn't just abandon the personality he carried for fifteen years. Old habits die hard, they say.

"Well let's go to the woods then," Candice said jumping. _"Kiai!"_ She shouted as soon as she did so.

"Really?" Dawn looked confused. "Well we could come some other—"

She was cut short by Zoey who pulled her towards their jeep. "But we can't wait!" Zoey's face was full of a cunning smirk.

"That's right, Zo-Zo!" Candice agreed, hopping onto the vehicle.

Dawn realized they wanted to see her talk with Paul.

* * *

**October 22****nd****, ****_2012_**

**Countdown 344:00:18:27 **

**Opelucid Trainer's School**

"Welcome back, Iris," the stern man, who sported a constant frown, towered before the shivering future-to-be dragon master.

"Well," Iris laughed nervously. She actually planned to sneak into the gym. She didn't want to get caught, carrying a huge bag filled with souvenirs from Kanto, Cerulean especially. Unfortunately for her, the elderly Dragon Master stood right next to the window in her room. He obviously anticipated her coming back, and sneaking in through the window. "Good evening, Drayden," she said sending another forced laughter. She was one leg on the windowsill away from entering.

"You sure took your time in Kanto," he said. "May I know what kind of training you've been through?" He spoke with a dry, calm tone that made Iris wonder if he really believes that she trained in Cerulean or simply sarcastic.

"I-I uh, I was—" she paused, reminiscing of the last few days she spent in Cerulean with Misty. The only things that came to her mind was the Cerulean Cape, the couples they tailed, the water show in Cerulean, underwater exploration inside Misty's gym, a little party with her elder sisters, and taunting Misty a bit about her secret crush on Ash, and shopping. "I went through a lot actually," she lied through her teeth.

"I see the fruits of your training," he nodded at the bags that she carried with extreme difficulty.

"Ah," she eyed the bag in her hands. "These are just gifts from Misty. They're really rich." She lied again. But this time it wasn't a full lie. The Waterflower were indeed rich once upon a time. But nothing but the old mansion, Cerulean Gym was left for the four daughters.

Speaking of gifts…Iris's thoughts trailed. "Misty actually gave me a wonderful gift," she said opening the bag, as Drayden watched her disinterested.

After rummaging through the numerous 'gifts', Iris extracted a red, shiny gift box, that could perfectly fit in your hand.

Drayden raised an eyebrow, "And, what is that?"

She looked at the box, catching it preciously. "She said it's a Pokémon she caught. She told me I would really love it. It's a thank you for keeping her company."

"A water and dragon type?" Drayden asked, still maintaining the dry tone in his voice. It seemed the only logical gift a water leader to catch and gift it to Iris. The only possibility would be Kingdra or its pre-evolutions.

Iris shared the same thoughts too. "Can I take it to the pond and open?" She asked, eagerly. She could have seen what lay inside the ball before coming back, but Misty repeatedly warned her not to do so.

A short walk through the Trainer School brought them to a pond that was large enough to accommodate a Kingdra.

Iris unwrapped the gift completely on their way, and was now holding the bright red ball. It was a 'Cherish Ball', an expensive Pokéball usually given as gifts.

"Alright," she licked her lips, excited. "Come on out!" She yelled as she tossed the ball into the air.

The ball split open with a sparkling light, and a white beam shot at the water underneath. The white beam slowly shaped into a—

A large Blue Pokémon that had a long neck. The Pokémon had a grey shell on its back, and kind eyes that could enchant one. The Pokémon despite its appearance, growled in what seemed like one of the most melodious tunes she ever heard.

But more than being in awe, the dragon trainer was in fact astonished. As the Pokémon before her was a—

"It's an ICE TYPE!" Iris screamed.

A Lapras.

* * *

**May 14****th****, 2013**

**Countdown: 139: 12:36:03**

Dawn closed her eyes with her hands, as the cold blizzard blasted on her face.

"He's training in _this_ weather?" Dawn had to scream to make herself audible.

"Well," Candice looked rather unfazed, "This is the best place for ice types."

The blizzard got stronger, this time halting the blunette who trudged through the snow with extreme difficulty. She was regretting for not wearing something that could cover her legs as well.

"It's getting worse," Candice frowned. "I don't think this is a natural blizzard." She stopped to look back at the redhead and the blunette following. "Something's wrong. It must be those Abomasnow."

As a Gym Leader who owns an Abomasnow, Candice knew how terrible their temper tantrums could be. So, what exactly could have happened to throw them berserk like this?

Anyways—"It's better if we hold hands. You don't want to get lost in this." But then—

The blizzard exploded with intensity once more, throwing Dawn out of Candice's and Zoey's vision. A few seconds ago, she was watching them and now, she couldn't even open her eyes.

But then something else happened—

At first it was a rumbling noise. Then it seemed like the ground was shaking. When the feeling grew stronger and stronger, Dawn realized one thing.

Something was coming for her.

She turned to her right, where the noise seemed to come from. At first it seemed like the snow was being pushed away by some kind of invisible power, but on close inspection she saw a rolling object.

And it was coming at her.

She didn't know what it was, but her instinct told her to get out of its way. In her panic, she accidentally tripped; falling on the snowy ground face first.

"Dawn!" Candice and Zoey screamed at once, watching her in a helpless state as something rolling came towards her, prepared to crush her.

Either girl reached for their Pokéball hoping they would make it in time. They wouldn't, they knew. But someone else could.

"Magmortar, Focus Blast!"

Either woman jerked their heads at a distant figure uphill. Despite the heavy blizzard, they could spot a reddish glow.

The creature which gave off the glow lifted its hands. A white spark of energy shaped in its arms, and slowly grew into a ball.

They heard a distant growl, as the creature fired the ball, like a canon. The 'shot' which was the Focus blast moved at an incredible speed, covering the distance towards the rolling creature in no time, and landed straight on it.

The collision gave off with a blunt explosion, blowing the snow around at once. With a scream of pain, a seemingly small creature was blown off into the air. The attack was obviously too much for it.

Dawn, still dazed stood up, as Zoey and Candice came to help her up. Before they could speak anything—

"Are you alright?" A male voice asked. It was undoubtedly the voice that commanded the Focus Blast.

"P-Paul?" Dawn asked, as the outlines of the Pokémon trainer became visible. Moments later, he was standing before her, a frown on his face.

"I thought you were a Pokémon trainer," he said sarcastically. He scoffed, looking at the creature he attacked. "You obviously don't seem prepared enough."

The comment ticked Dawn off. But more than her, "Alright, that's enough." Zoey retaliated. "You may have saved her, but that doesn't—"

"Zoey," Dawn placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, and smiled. "It's fine. I really messed up over there." She realized he must have panicked back then, and he deserved to throw the words at her. He saved her after all.

The purple haired trainer looked at her slightly surprised. He wanted to apologize to her. Yeah, that remark was too rude than necessary. He opened his mouth to say something nice but, he couldn't. He never _sincerely_ apologized to anyone, and somehow doing that seemed inappropriate. Besides, Dawn looked like she didn't worry about it too much.

He silently turned around, and walked towards the creature he attacked.

"I _hate_ his attitude," Zoey hissed as he walked away. "What does he think of himself anyway? Couldn't he even give a proper greeting?"

"What Pokémon is that?" Dawn asked, changing the subject. "Better check it out," she said following Paul's footsteps.

Zoey glanced at Candice, and shook her head in exasperation. The girls then followed Dawn.

Meanwhile Paul crouched down and examined the Pokémon. It was a grey colored creature, a small one at that, with body made up of what seemed like a neatly carved stone. It had four short legs, that didn't match well with its large torso, and a nose that ended up into a sharp horn. Judging by how it was blown off so easily, it seems to be _weak_.

The Pokémon noticed the human standing beside it, and tried to get up, but couldn't. It immediately buckled on its four legs, grunting in pain.

He mentally slapped himself. This wasn't the time to be analytic. He should perhaps, help the Pokémon because he injured it? Well, that's what Ash Ketchum would do, right?

"A Rhyhorn?" Dawn asked, as she stooped down below, Paul turned in the direction, and noticed the girl who stood right beside him.

He looked away immediately, and eyed the Pokémon. "Yeah," he muttered. He found her presence uncomfortable. "It attacked the Abomasnow over the ridge earlier."

"So, that's how the Blizzard came up," the gym leader Candice crossed her arms. "But what's a Rhyhorn doing here?"

Paul knew the answer to that. "It must have been abandoned by a trainer," he said.

Zoey's eyes narrowed at this, "How do you know that?"

"Rhyhorn know the move Rock Climb," Paul explained, not facing the three while he did so. His eyes were simply on the rock type before him. "There's a shortcut to Snowpoint along the mountains. But you need a Pokémon with Rock Climb for that. Not many Pokémon learn that move easily."

"That fits perfectly," Candice said placing her hand on her chin. "The poor thing," she said eyeing the suffering Pokémon, with an expression of pity.

Zoey however maintained her frown. "Oh, and it's so perfect because—"

"That's something I would have done," Paul finished for her. It was true. The Rhyhorn didn't look strong; it's natural for the trainer to leave it.

"You're wrong," Dawn spoke. She held her breath for a second. "You've changed haven't you?"

"Oh please," Zoey sighed. Dawn glared at the girl at that. She firmly believed Paul changed, she could see it.

"Winning the world tournament," Paul said, closing his eyes. "And becoming the strongest trainer ever are the only goals in my life. I may look like I care for my Pokémon, but I honestly don't care."

Zoey shrugged at Dawn, giving an 'I told so' expression.

Dawn only got pissed at this. "So, you're telling all of this is an act? Then why are you still standing here? If you were the old you, you would have left us by now. You care for that Rhyhorn, don't you?"

"I do?" For the first time Paul looked straight into Dawn's blue eyes. He then smiled derisively. He only cared for his Pokémon because he wanted the emotions strengthen his Pokémon. The only reason he loved his Pokémon was because the last time he used them as tools, he didn't have much success against Ash. Basically, he was treating his Pokémon better because he _needs_ them. In other words, he was still using his Pokémon as tools. He was a terrible person, Paul firmly believed.

But Dawn disagreed with Paul's views on himself. "Don't you feel anything, when you look at that Pokémon?" She asked.

Paul looked at the Rhyhorn. Feel, huh? He asked himself looking at the suffering Pokémon.

Dawn observed the trainer as he silently stared at Rhyhorn. She was confident that she was right. Paul hates himself, more so because he lost to Ash in the Sinnoh League. "What would Ash do if he's in my place?" He asked, after a brief pause.

"He would carry the Pokémon and rush to the Pokémon Centre," Dawn replied, imagining Ash in the situation. With Ash, they won't be even having this conversation right now.

* * *

**September 13****4h****, 2013**

**Countdown: 18: 06:53:13**

"Zippo, flamethrower!"

A large fire-dragon roared, and let out the streak of flames through its enormous jaws.

"Salamence," a man who looked like he was in his forties commanded. "Dragon Pulse!"

The Pokémon was a large blue dragon, and had a menacing look on its eyes. It used its powerful red wings to push itself away from the flames' reach with ease, and shot a green sphere of energy at the Charizard.

"Zippo," the trainer in a green over green clenched his teeth. "Block it!"

The Charizard braved the powerful sphere of energy by catching hold of it with bare hands. The impact pushed the Pokémon back, but it managed to get a hold, and pushed back the energy before it exploded somewhere at a distance.

"You're getting good," the man commended. "You still have around twenty days left."

"I know," the excited teen nodded. "I'll need to work harder if I need to win the world tournament, Mr. Silver." He turned to his Pikachu, "Isn't that right, Sparky?"

"Pika!" The Pokémon said, electricity sparkling on its cheeks.

The man Silver, smiled at this. "Then, let's do it."

For the past year, Ritchie has been training under Silver, a specialist who hunted for strong Pokémon. Ritchie met him a few years ago, and took up his offer and trained under him for the past year.

_'After all these years, my aim to become the strongest trainer is in the horizon.'_ Ritchie believed. _'I have to beat them all. All of them, even Ash.' _

* * *

**May 14****th****, 2013**

**Countdown: 139: 12:09:32**

"Rhyhorn will recover pretty soon," the Nurse Joy had a beaming smile. "You've done a good job bringing him in time."

The purple haired trainer nodded at this. If there was any sign of relief on his face, he hid it well. He simply didn't care, he told himself.

They were in the Pokémon Center. Zoey and Candice decided to take the job of calming down the Abomasnow. Dawn ended up accompanying him on the way back here.

"Good job in carrying him all the way here," Paul muttered, to a Pokémon that stood behind him.

"Scor," the Fang Pokémon Gliscor acknowledged with a nod, before it was sucked back into the Pokéball.

Behind the dematerialized Pokémon, the Sinnoh Coordinator stood with a coy smile on her face. "Well you didn't carry him all the way here but," the blunette teased. Then she gave him a thumbs-up, "You saved the Rhyhorn. I told you, no need to worry!"

Paul chuckled at her innocent smile, but paused immediately. It was so out of character for him to do so, he criticized. The usual frown on his face returned.

"Really?" Dawn placed her arms on her hips. "Why don't you let yourself enjoy for a change?"

He sighed. This girl for some reason stuck herself to him. This wasn't the first time she did something like that. She always seemed to ask him something or the other to put up a conversation with him. She wasn't interested in the conversation itself; she simply wanted him to talk. It was annoying in a way.

"How is he doing?" He asked, deciding to put some conversation.

"Seriously, the only thing you get into mind when you talk with me is Ash?" She frowned, apparently pissed.

Paul shook his head giving up. This girl was impossible. "What else should we be talking?" He asked.

Dawn couldn't help but give him a weak smile at that. There was indeed nothing else to talk with him. She knew nothing about him. The only thing they had in common was Ash. "He wanted to tell you that he's becoming stronger." She said.

The frown on Paul's face settled. '_It's so like him to tell that_.' Knowing Ash, he must be training really hard for his loss against him. Well granted, he used Overgrow to boost Torterra's attack power, the downside of that move was that, had Tauros dodged the attack, Torterra would have been finished.

Premature Boost was a technique Pokémon with Overgrow, Blaze, Torrent and Swarm could learn. The Pokémon would activate the ability which wouldn't activate till its health go hazardously low, at a better health, but in exchange it would become extremely vulnerable after that. One hit would finish even Torterra no matter how much health he had. That was something Ash didn't know though. He had used it as a surprise element.

"What about you, Paul?" Dawn asked. "How's your training going?"

Paul, who still had trouble looking at her face to face said, "Brandon doesn't teach me anything battle related. He only coaches me on things like will power, and all. I never thought I'd believe in all that stuff. He says, those who have a strong will to win can beat people who are far stronger than they are. It's precisely why Ash managed to beat Brandon while I couldn't back then."

"The will to win," Dawn repeated falling into deep thought. Did she have the will to win? She was already positive that she wouldn't go much farther in the world tournament as she was a coordinator. But that shouldn't stop her, should it? If Ash managed to beat Brandon with will power, then she should take him as an example. That's right, even if her aim wasn't to become a Pokémon Master, she will have to give it her all for the tournament.

Paul studied the rising determination in her eyes. "It's funny how Ash inspires you, even if you are _this_ far apart."

Dawn was caught off guard by the comment. "Huh?" Her cheeks were flushed for some reason. She apparently interpreted his comment the wrong way. Noticing her blush made Paul look away, as he cursed himself.

An uncomfortable silence stood between the two. Paul meekly glanced at her for a second. Dawn glanced at him, the same time. As soon as they made eye contact either of them immediately shifted their glances away. It was one of those awkward movements you wouldn't like.

The pause stood for some more time. Dawn didn't know if she should be speaking or not. Paul wasn't so talkative, so he mightn't be the person to break the silence.

Contrary to her expectations, however, "I will raise that Rhyhorn," Paul broke at last.

Dawn's eyes widened at the comment. "I don't know how well it goes," Paul spoke again. "But it will prove if Brandon's theory is correct or not. I'll try training it the same way Ash did with Chimchar."

"You want to use its feelings to get stronger for your advantage?" Dawn asked.

"Yes," he mumbled. "No matter how people hate me for it, I can't change the way I think. My intentions aren't completely pure like Ash's. A Pokémon like that has potential; I say that after seeing Infernape. I want to harness that potential."

"What you think doesn't matter, Paul," Dawn looked cheerful again. "You're doing a good thing, that's all matters."

Is that the way Ash thinks? He looked at the bright smile on Dawn's lips.

Yes, it didn't matter.

_'Thank you, Dawn.'_ He wanted to say that aloud, but he didn't.

* * *

**September 15****th****, 2013**

**Countdown: 16: 03:11:00**

May took an exasperated sigh as she examined the contents of the refrigerator. They were empty except for the lone bottle of toned milk.

Apparently, her mother forgot to 'save' the dessert for her.

It was nine in the evening. After a good workout with her Pokémon, she took a shower. Eating something after a shower was something she was habituated to.

After thinking twice, she decided to settle with the bottle of milk.

"May," Her Dad called in from the living room.

"Yeah?" she asked. Both Norman and Caroline were in the living room, standing by the phone.

"Max just called," her mother said. "He's got the Sootopolis badge too."

Apparently it was big news for her parents. It didn't seem much to her. Getting badges just seemed 'easy' after watching Ash for a whole year. In fact she believed getting five ribbons was a whole lot difficult than eight badges.

"Good for him," she said casually.

Her father smiled at this. "You'd have made a wonderful battler, May." Norman said. "Your battle style is really good for a coordinator actually." He could say so confidently because the father and daughter have been training for the past year for the tournament. May wasn't so keen, but she wanted to help her Dad, and didn't have anything better to spend the time for.

"Well," May poked her cheeks for a second as she stared at the wall painting. "Drew says I took in too much of Ash's style."

Her father nodded at this in acknowledgment. "Speaking of Ash," Norman said. "Haven't met the kid since then. How's he doing?"

"No clue," May shook her head. "But,"

The look on Ash's face when he lost to Paul flashed in her mind.

"He must be training real hard."

* * *

**September 15****th****, 2013**

**Countdown: 16: 01:10:18**

"Vaporeon, Hydro pump!" A boy in his late-teens commanded the water-type Pokémon. He had a dark-blond hair, and wore a red suit that signified the rescue ranger operation he was a part off.

"Emboar, dodge!" The woman wearing a green beret replied. She was a clumsy woman, one could say if they took a good look at her. But despite that she was a well-spirited trainer who aimed for the Pokémon world tournament.

They were Virgil, Bianca, the Pokémon trainers from Unova. A trainer 'couple' who simply knew each other in the Unova League, then grew into friends and now—

"Ah, the love birds are at training again," Virgil's brother, Dave, mused as he watched the blond couple battle. "They spend more time on battling than be with each other," he sighed.

Virgil won the Unova League, Vertress Conference a year ago. He was a contender for battling the Elite Four. The Elite Four refused to battle him as the world tournament was nearing. In exchange, they proposed that any wins he got over champions and elites in the PWT will be considered official.

This guy who used all Eevee evolutions was a top contender for the tournament.

But there were more.

There was Tyson from the Hoenn region who challenged the Hoenn Elite Four and lost miserably three years ago.

He has been training in Mt. Silver in Johto ever since, along with his trusted partner, the Meowth in boots.

Harrison, who lost in the Kanto League's finals one year after his Johto expedition moved to Unova after that. After getting rare Pokémon that couldn't be found anywhere else, he challenged the Hoenn League again and won the next time.

While Ash made it to the top four in Sinnoh, Harrison won the Hoenn League and managed to defeat three of the Elite Four before losing to Drake. He's currently training in his home town Littleroot.

Morrison was a mixed bag. He always beat the top guns in the League tournaments but ends up losing against the less-named ones. Like Ash, he never won a League, but he was more confident than ever after beating Tyson, when they met a year ago.

There was Conway, who used the one year time to sketch new and rare strategies that could throw even the elites off-guard.

Then there was Barry, who trained under his father Palmer, the Tower Tycoon. He was bonkers, but he's talented.

Trip, who visited Kanto after his loss in the Unova League. He triumphed the gyms in no time, and won many local Kanto tournaments. When asked by a local news reporter on how he felt about Kanto he said, "Not bad."

If you were to visit the Tojho falls, then you'd know that some strange trainer from Unova was training under the falls. He broke Chuck's record of standing for eighteen hours under the fall.

His name was Stephan.

The training didn't just limit to these young trainers who aimed to be the best.

Even the best trainers like Cynthia and Alder, worked enough to exhaust themselves, to make sure they wouldn't bring their titles to shame.

They all have the same agenda in mind—to win the World Tournament.

* * *

**September 29****th****, 2013.**

**Two more days left for the world tournament.**

Three people were inside the Ketchum residence that night.

The clock barely struck 9. The woman, Delia Ketchum was impatiently walking to and fro. One could tell that she was really excited.

"Is she like this every time Ash comes back from a journey?" The brown haired Gary, who rested on the couch, asked the old Professor.

The Professor chuckled, "This time it's worse. She's waiting for two of them, after all."

Gary smiled at this. "I can't believe it's been a year already, and I still can't believe the PWT starts day after tomorrow."

"I know that feeling," the Professor said, a warm smile on his face.

Gary was honestly excited. It's been a while since he faced something this tense. Ah, how he missed the battling circuit. He loved research more than anything else, but that didn't do anything to cut his competitive spirit. In fact, he was training all the while he was in research, just so that he could keep up with Ash.

But now—

He wasn't sure how strong Ash had become in this one year. But he was confident he could give him a run for his life.

As his thoughts circled on and on, the ringing of the calling bell brought the three to attention.

"They're here!" Mrs. Ketchum lunged for the door, like a little girl. The Oak's exchanged a smile and followed her.

He saw Delia open the door. "I'm back, Mom!" He heard a voice outside exclaim. It sounded a little bit deeper than usual.

The woman spread her arms to greet her son. "Welcome, A—" She paused suddenly, staring at whatever it was like a ghost.

Noticing her expression, Gary peeked from behind. "Whoa," those were the first words that came from his mouth.

Standing before the door was sixteen year old boy, who was surprisingly tall for Ash. Ash had been below five feet, all his life. But this guy, he was something around 5'2". He was still shorter than Gary, but by Ash's standards he looked pretty tall. His muscles were pretty developed too. He wasn't too built or anything, but he was in a proper shape.

"What the heck have you been training, Ash?" Gary asked, a bit shocked. "Your Pokémon or your body?" He had talked to Ash, a few days ago in the phone when he asked to rotate his Pokémon. But he didn't notice the change at that time.

Ash looked at himself and sighed, "Blame Dad's ridiculous part-time jobs for this," he said.

At that point a pack of muscles, covered by a shirt came into the scene. "This's just one year's result. Give me another, and I'll make him the guy girls would drool for."

"Good old Alex," Gary's grandfather sighed. "Just as always."

The father and son proceeded to walk in, but the woman stopped them. "Before you go in. Do you guys have a proper reason for_ not_ calling me in _nine_ months while you call Professor Oak _every week_?"

"It's his fault!" Both Ash and Alex exclaimed at the same time, pointing at each other.

"Dad!" Ash looked at his father, incredulous. "You were the one who told me not to call that day!"

"What?" Alex looked at his son, as if he was stunned by the accusations he made. "Don't be ridiculous."

"No Dinner for you Alex," Delia said, folding her arms. "Ash, get in."

"Pika Pika," at that moment a certain rodent took the woman's attention.

Delia smiled at Pikachu, "Of course, you can get in too."

"Ah!" Alex exclaimed. "Don't be so unfair, Delia!"

"I think it's fair, Mr. Ketchum," Gary said with a smile. His eyes stayed on Pikachu as Ash and the rodent walked into the house. He noticed something unusual.

Its tail for some reason kept twitching like it had a life of its own.

"Hey Ash," Gary asked. The raven-haired turned around. "Is something wrong with Pikachu's tail?" He asked.

"Oh that," Ash said scratching his head. "I guess it's the side effect for tying up his body for two weeks and make him do everything with his tail."

"What?" Gary looked befuddled. That sounded like some horrible training.

"Hey, I tied myself up too," he said, looking at the expression on Gary's face. "And I didn't have a tail like him."

"But why?" Gary asked, befuddled.

A smirk developed on Ash's face at that. "You're going to see why in the world tournament."

"I must say," the older Professor stooped below and scanned Pikachu. "He's grown quite a lot too."

The news somehow nerved Gary. Just what kind of training had Ash been through this whole year?

There was something different in Ash from when they left Pallet Town a year ago. It wasn't just physical growth, there was something else. It was as if a new glow filled Ash's face.

Confidence, Gary realized.

Yes, he didn't show it, but Ash was filled with confidence. It was different from his usual confidence, it was something more. Something that made Gary scared of his chances in the tournament. A confidence that can only be achieved through extreme training.

"I'll just fresh up and come back," Ash excused, before taking the stairs to his room above.

"Did you notice anything different in him," the old man Professor Oak asked, as they watched Ash go.

Gary smiled at this, "Yeah. He's gotten a lot stronger."

"I tried calling you," Alex on the other hand was having a furious wife to deal with. "But I _did_ inform well in hand that we were coming today, didn't we?"

"Yeah, because the only thing you care for is to eat my cooking," she scoffed turning back from the man.

"That's—" Alex paused. He took an exasperated sigh. His shoulders slumped down in defeat and so did his voice. "I'm sorry. I know I should've called, but I needed Ash to forget everything else."

Delia's frown seemed to go softer, but she didn't give away so easily.

"Although, you needn't worry. Tomorrow Ash will be in Rosenburg. The two of us can be with each other from now, forever."

Delia's frown completely disappeared, instead filled with surprise. "You won't go with him?"

"No," Alex said. "If they were to know he's my son…" he grew uncomfortable. "I'd rather watch from somewhere far away than stand beside him and be the reason for people calling him names."

The fake anger Delia had completely disappeared. She jumped onto the arms of the man who stood before her.

Watching the husband and wife hug each other made Gary blush, and look away.

"Well," Professor Oak clapped. "Now that everything's settled, let's get in for dinner then?"

Delia and Alex blushed, and parted away from each other. "I've made the dinner. Let's start before it gets cold."

* * *

Dinner at home.

Perhaps the only think I love more than Pokémon battles. Both Gary and the older Professor gave an uncomfortable smile as Dad and I gobbled down the food. Mom, on the other hand looked very happy.

"So Ash," Professor Oak attempted to start a conversation. "What kind of you training did you do this whole year?"

"Oh," I paused. There was in fact a lot. "Well, after the conference in Seafoam, I challenged all the gyms of Kanto again. I beat Blaine, Lt. Surge, Erika, Sabrina," I was counting with my fingers as I said that. "Forrest, Janine and Aya."

"What about Misty?" Gary asked.

Dad immediately guffawed at the mention of her name. He laughed so suddenly that, he ended up into a fit of coughs.

"Dad, it wasn't funny!" I yelled. My cheeks were getting red in embarrassment.

"It was nothing but funny!" Dad slammed his fist against the table as he laughed again.

"Wow," Gary looked at Dad's reaction. "Did anything happen between you and her?"

Dad's laugh only amplified in intensity. "Cut it out!" I yelled once more. I then turned to Gary, "I won't tell you what happened but, let's just say, I was misled by her sister's words."

"Well that's a bummer," Gary said. "You really need to tell me what happened between them."

Dad's annoying laugh stopped. "Ah, not now Gary. The real fun happens when the two will meet in Rosenburg."

Humor aside, it's true. I really should be on guard, or a certain red head might end up killing me. I actually ran away from the Cerulean Gym when I learned Misty was coming for the next train. She'd be really pissed if she noticed I defeated her gym in her absence. I really should stop getting fooled by her sisters. They told she wouldn't be back in a _long_ time.

But after the battle she said, _"Long—Like in two hours?"_

"After that, Dad took me to random places in Kanto." Truth be told, most of them were secluded areas where you see less people, sometimes even zero. There were lots of new things I learned, but the toughest was the poison endurance training. We stayed for two weeks in Fuchsia so that all my Pokémon would experience the training. The results were pretty good.

"Well Ash," Mom's soft voice brought me to her attention. I noticed she was looking at my feet. "You've gotten a lot taller, didn't you?"

"Yeah," I said, noticing my pants have gotten short again. "I think I'm gonna be taller than you in a few days."

She chuckled at that. "You'll be my little baby no matter how tall you are."

Yeah, that's right. "I think I need to get a new outfit."

"I'll design them," she beamed. "As always."

Mom had always designed the clothes for me. It's something she took pride in.

"He doesn't have the time," Dad however dropped her dreams into the drain. "He and Gary will be leaving for the next plane in three hours."

"Three hours?!" Both Mom and I exclaimed at once, looking at the man incredulous.

"Yeah," Gary agreed. "We booked the tickets to Rosenburg a week ago. Both I and Ash will set for the 1 'o' clock plane." He asked Dad, "You didn't inform them, Mr. Ketchum?"

"Ah," Dad opened his mouth to say something, but as he didn't have a reasonable answer in his mind, "I guess it slipped my mind." He spoke after a pause.

"How could you forget _that_?" I demanded. Sometimes my old man pisses me off to extremes.

"The tournament starts on October 1st, right?" Mom asked. "Can't he leave tomorrow?"

"The tournaments on October 1st, 00:00 A.M," Dad said, "That's just 26 hours from now."

Wait a minute. Why the heck didn't I think of that?

"We've already done the registrations," I said, "The flight gets you to Rosenburg in three hours. I'll be way before midnight even if I start tomorrow."

Dad sighed at my response, while Gary shook his head. Did I miss something again?

"Although you have registered," Gary explained, "You need to inform your arrival at the counter. They won't count us in till we confirm the registration in person. And there are only five counters for forty thousand trainers in Rosenburg's main complex."

"You're kidding me!" I exclaimed. That was beyond ridiculous. That's like eight thousand trainers for each counter.

"To their credit," Professor Oak replied, "Since the main registration's already done. It'll take less than a minute for each trainer."

"So, if you don't want to waste your time standing in a pointlessly large queue," Dad finished. "You need to leave NOW!"

I slumped on my chair, energy less. We just walked through Route 1 to get back to Pallet. We have to set out again?

"It takes two hours to get to the Viridian Airport," Mom said, standing up. "So I have one hour left. I'll make a quick work on Alex's clothes to fit you, Ash."

Dad protested something from behind, but she pretended not to hear. It was her sweet revenge.

* * *

**An Hour Later**

"You look really handsome in this," Mom clapped as I showed myself before them, wearing my new clothes.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in agreement.

The dress I wore was a blue sleeveless jacket, over a black shirt underneath. The pants were light blue faded jeans. I didn't have much time to buy new ones, so I had to wear my old red sneakers I used in Unova. The gloves were black, similar to my Hoenn ones, and to finish off, I wore the hat that I originally wore. The hat I treasured like a precious gem. The official Pokémon League Expo hat.

"Alright," I said pulling the gloves back, fitting it properly onto my hands. Wearing this new dress got me all pumped up already. "I'm going to win the Pokémon world tournament!" I exclaimed.

"That's the spirit," Dad nodded. The said man was standing by the door, prepared to give me a sendoff.

"Good luck in the tournament, honey," Mom said, with a smile. "Remember, your Mommy and Daddy will always be cheering you from the stands."

"Yeah," I said. With the confident smirk on my face I turned to the open door. "Let's go Pikachu," I said, taking bold steps towards my Dad.

Pikachu jumped onto his usual position, on my left shoulder. "Pikachu!" He growled in determination.

Before I headed outside, I gave Dad one final parting hug. After we parted from each other, he placed an arm on me. "This whole year. I've did my best to shape you into champion material. I'm not sure about others, but I'm pretty sure you'll win this. Go get them, Ash."

The smirk on my face grew broader. "Of course."

As I turned and stepped outside the door, he said one thing. "I still regret for not spending our time on _that._"

_"That?_" I understood what he was talking about. We spent the whole year, shaping up my Pokémon, and make proper teams with them. We didn't have much time to work on my battle style. Dad said, I needed to do something that would put me above others. Something only I can do.

After thinking it through for a lot of time, I finally came up with the answer. But it would take at least two to three months to teach each of my Pokémon to apply my new strategy. We didn't have much time to work on it. We had two weeks to be exact.

"Even without _that_," I assured Dad, "I'm going to win this tournament."

The trademark Ketchum smile formed on Dad's lips, "Good Luck."

After taking one last look at my house, my mom, my Dad and Professor Oak, I joined up with Gary in his car.

Within no time, we were driving at express speed towards Viridian.

In five more hours, I'll be in Rosenburg.

The place where my Dad stayed for ten years to become the best trainer.

The place he abandoned my mother for.

The place that abandoned him for wrong reasons.

But more than these negative feelings—

It's a place where the best of the best trainers gather.

It's the place where I'll prove the world that I am the very best like no one ever was.

* * *

**This chapter must be something you guys didn't expect. But I did it for a good reason. I am unable to write the pre-arc with just as much interest.**

**This chapter was named Rival Destinies, as it was supposed to focus on the other characters. I did give a line or two for each of the main rivals. I think I didn't miss anyone major, but if I did, do mention it!**

**The next chapter is something that I have been having in mind since three years. **

**Yes, I decided to paste the same ideas, because I think it is a good opening chapter for a tournament so grand.**

**The opening chapters for the world tournament will be mostly character assemblies, a bit of explanation on the format and not to mention there will be a couple of pre-league rumbles between the egoistic trainers.**

**I'm not going to give the tentative title this time because the last time I did, I failed you guys! Hope you forgive me for this blasphemy (:P)**

**Since the A/N is too big, I'll remove it before posting the next chapter.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	10. Old Friends, New Rivals and Team Rocket!

**This chapter marks the beginning of the tournament arc. This chapter itself has been split into two parts. This chapter is more like a set up for the heat up in the next chapters.**

**10. Old Friends, New Rivals and Team Rocket! Part I**

The mini-van finally stopped before the wide empty road. The door opened, and a boy wearing red sneakers jumped down. He stretched his body lazily, and adjusted the cap on his head.

It was 5 A.M in the morning, and the air was perfectly fresh. He took in a deep breath, letting the air rejuvenate him.

Another pair of feet landed on the ground behind him. He was a sixteen year old brown haired. He had looks that could make a girl's heart skip a beat.

Joining these two, a third creature jumped from the van, and landed on the first guy's hat.

Needless to say, the trio was Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Pikachu.

Gary turned behind, "I thought you'd drop us inside."

The van driver leaned back facing Gary. "Vehicles aren't allowed. You need to walk inside to get into the Rosenburg complex."

"What?" Gary looked incredulous. It was five in the morning, walking wasn't one of the best options he had in mind.

"Well, I'll be taking my leave then," the van rumbled, and was soon moving away back to the airport.

Gary and Ash landed on Rosenburg Island about an hour ago. They were told that the actual tournament complex was fifteen kilometers away from the airport. The two of them had to book a van to get in here.

"It's amazing isn't it," Ash spoke at last. Gary noticed the glee in his face. Typical Ash. He was obviously excited for the tournament. It's undeniable. Who _wouldn't _be?

"What is?" He asked casually.

"It's just the two of us," he pointed at the empty road. It was forty feet wide, enough to accommodate a horde of people that would assemble in the next few hours.

"Yeah, not everyone comes this early," Gary said, rolling his eyes. "I shouldn't have listened to your Dad. I mean look, we're the only ones here."

"That's not it Gary," Ash said, shaking his head. Gary remained silent at this.

"When the two of us began our journeys," Ash said, "We began our walk at the same time, on the road to be a Pokémon Master."

Gary smiled at this, "I drove though."

Ash chuckled, "Yeah, you did, with a lot many girls for a ten year old."

Gary noticed the expression in Ash's eyes. He wasn't being his usual excited self. Instead, he seemed more laid-back than ever. "You're being sentimental today. How unusual," the young professor muttered.

"Yeah," Ash said, looking at his curled up fists. "I suppose so."

"Well in that case," Gary said looking at the road in front. Having understood his friend's sentiment he said, "Let's walk the Road to be a Pokémon Master, together."

"Sure," Ash said. "Let's go!" He pumped his fist into the air.

* * *

**One Day Ago**

The Pokémon League Association Board meeting.

Several esteemed people were sitting in the round table conference room. Each of them had invested millions into the world tournament. And so, a meeting between them was usual at this juncture, as its human nature for people to worry about their investments.

But this meeting was different. Instead of worrying about the arrangements, they were discussing the possibility of including a new 'system' into the tournament.

The board room was dark. All of their eyes were on the video playing on the large screen. Not one of them looked away even for a second.

The video ended, and the lights flickered on, revealing the somewhat impressed and confused board members.

"Well, what do you think?" The newest member of the board was standing, as he was the one speaking.

As most of you know, he was Giovanni, the former leader of Team Rocket, and the current CEO of 'Speed of Light' Group of Restaurants, and a board member with six percent shares in the P.L.A.

He looked at the silent board, as each member considered his idea. Except for one.

"It's preposterous," Goodsho slammed his fist against the desk, startling everyone.

"We can negotiate about it," Giovanni said, smiling at the old man.

"No," Goodsho shook his head. "I wouldn't even think twice. I'm not allowing these so called 'Hold Items' into _my_ tournament. You'll ruin the traditional Pokémon battles."

Giovanni frowned at this. He didn't like the obstacle in his path. The look on the remaining board members' face told him that they seemed convinced by his idea. It'd only need a simple pushing. He spoke, "The 'Hold Items' boost up a Pokémon's ability, making the battles even more interesting. There's more scope for strategy than ever. This, if anything, will Pokémon battles a better sport."

"This isn't just any sport," Goodsho argued. "Pokémon are living creatures. These things are unacceptable. I'd prefer a natural battle over this artificial nonsense!"

"You're ninety-five year old," Giovanni said, with a cold voice. It was almost like a threat. "It's natural for you to be old-fashioned." He turned to the other members of the board. "But the rest of you. What do _you_ really think of my idea? Should we be sticking to ideals from eighty years ago, or face the modern world with a new era of Pokémon battles? This world tournament is the best way to start this."

Goodsho clenched his fists. If his experience hadn't taught him to be calm, he would have walked up to Giovanni and hit him on his face.

What Giovanni suggested was to equip Pokémon with strange devices called 'Hold Items'. He had demonstrated a few of them in the video. One of them particularly ravaged his heart.

A Life Orb.

The Pokémon's powers were dramatically increased, but its life was being drained away by the orb. It was cruelty to the extremes. Giovanni's idea was as sick as Giovanni.

Goodsho didn't like the idea of the man sitting among them in the first place. He had tried his best to find a way to get rid of the worm inside the board. He paid for the costliest attorneys so that they'd put him in the prison for all the crimes he committed.

All of that went in vain.

On the other hand, Giovanni won the hearts of the board members with his idea. He has successfully established Goodsho as a senile old man who struck to his old beliefs.

The problem was big. Goodsho had a 30.8% shares in the P.L.A. If the rest of the board was convinced, and vote for Giovanni, then Giovanni's idea would come to pass.

Knowing where Giovanni's speech was going, he would propose a vote anytime soon.

"If a general consensus isn't possible, then I believe it's for the better if we decide it with a vote," Giovanni said, sending a warm smile to each and every member.

Goodsho was terrified, as for what would happen if Giovanni's ideas would come to pass. Giovanni already has a research division developing the 'Hold Items'. He'd be the only one with the rights on production. Obviously, he'd rule the world tournament with his business.

He disbanded Team Rocket, but that's because he found a new way to take control of the world.

* * *

**September 30th, 2013.**

**Cynthia's Villa, Rosenburg**

**Countdown 00:18:42:36**

The time was almost twenty minutes past five.

In the peaceful Villa that belonged to the Sinnoh Champion, and the Champion's League title favorite Cynthia, the said blonde woman and the old man Goodsho, were sitting in the yard, taking a sip of their delicious tea.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you at a time like this," he said taking a sip. "But you do know the severity of this."

Cynthia nodded, and placed her cup on the table. "I understood the severity when you called me last night. It's not a change any trainer would like."

"But if at least one trainer uses them," Goodsho said, "The rest would follow suit. I want to ban them, but I am helpless if my board votes me out."

"Worse," Cynthia said. "Giovanni would then use the opportunity to vote you out for good."

Goodsho massaged his forehead. "I couldn't get a wink last night. Giovanni's all over my mind."

Cynthia gave him a warm smile, "What if I say, I have a solution for this."

Goodsho's eyes shot up with hope. He found the young woman, beaming at him.

"Harvey McMillan," Cynthia said, "He's the answer to all your troubles."

"Harvey who?" Goodsho asked.

"Harvey McMillan. He's a childhood friend of mine. A B-school graduate. More than that, he's pretty good at manipulating people to his side. All I want you to do is make him a part of your board. He'll take care of the rest."

"This Harvey McMillan," Goodsho muttered, looking doubtful. "Will he really be able to do it?"

"Trust me," Cynthia said, "Once he's in, Giovanni will never be trouble."

* * *

"This is it. This is it. THIS IS IT!" I yelled at the top of my voice.

After a long walk along the empty road, we finally managed to reach the place that was the center for most trainers' dreams.

There was an arch that stood as the entrance to the infamous Rosenburg Complex. On the banner, with bright letters were the words: 'Welcome to Pokémon World Tournament—Rosenburg Convention'.

Just reading that ticked my mind into super excitement mode. I don't know why, but I'm feeling like I am about going to explode with all this excitement inside my heart.

"You're on steroids today, Ashy-boy." Gary laughed. Even he looked pretty excited, as evident from the constant smile on his face. He wasn't just as expressive.

"Let's go!" I yelled once more, and ran through the gate.

Despite being early, a festive atmosphere greeted when we walked in. There was a huge board that showed an enormous map of the Rosenburg Complex. Beyond them, on either side were stalls of many kinds. Some of them were simple food stalls, while some sold merchandise like Pokémon related toys, while a few of them sold important items like Pokéball, Potions and all.

The general stream of the crowd however, seemed to be coming in and out the massive Pokémon Center that stood directly in front of the gate.

"For five in the morning, this place is sure lively," Gary said. "I think we did a good thing coming this early on. Your Dad sure knows his stuff."

"Hey, he's my Dad," I said, smirking. "Let's go and register before this place gets crowded."

"Yep," Gary nodded.

In a short while we were walking in through the automatic doors of the Pokémon Center. What lay inside of course blew our minds. The Center, despite being ten times the size of Viridian Center looked small thanks to the crowd inside. There were people everywhere we looked. Even a grain of sand would have tough time finding a space in there.

There was a general ruckus going on. People pushed at each other, yelled at each other, and some did worse.

"Hey, I've been standing here for the past seven hours!" A man yelled, "Don't cut the line!"

Apparently, a few people didn't like the idea of waiting and decided to go the easy way inside.

"Alright, that's enough," the green haired officer, Jenny pulled the two apart, "Let's be social and polite, okay?" The woman said, pulling the man who cut the line.

"We should've come a bit earlier," Gary said, his eyes still widened in surprise.

It's funny how his opinion changed two times quickly.

"Hey, tell that woman at the counter to move her lazy ass," another guy yelled. "The line isn't going anywhere!"

"What should we do?" I asked Gary. The line was too big. It'd easily take two hours of standing to complete our work.

"We have no choice," Gary shrugged. "We should've come with Misty or Iris."

"I'll call them," I suggested. If they were around, then we can use the chance to finish things quickly.

"Sounds great," Gary nodded.

Surprisingly, even the telephones were completely full. There were about thirty phones in the center; surprisingly all of them were occupied.

Having nothing else to do, the two of us walked into the waiting hall, to settle down on some couch.

It was then that I noticed a light-bluish green haired woman, sitting on a couch, her arms folded, and her eyes closed in a deep concentrated pose.

There were a couple of guys around her. I'm not sure who they were, but they seem to be asking her something.

Nevertheless, I walked forward to greet the woman.

"Look," the brown haired guy beside her spoke. "I've saved a couple of spots in the line. Come with me."

She opened her eyes, "I told I'm not going to—" She paused, when her eyes fell on me, waving to her.

She stood up, much to the surprise of the three men around. She walked forward and greeted me, "Aren't you, Ash Ketchum?" She asked.

"Yep," I smiled back. "Nice to meet you Katie. I'm glad you remembered me."

"How'd I forget the guy who beat me in the Hoenn League," she brushed her green hair behind, and smiled. She wore a red shirt over her long black skirt. If my Dad were here, he'd have described her as 'stuffed in the right places'.

Uggh. I'm starting to think like my Dad. One year with him was too much for my mind.

"So," I asked, drifting back to the conversation. "Did you complete your registration?"

She put a helpless smile, "I didn't. I just came here. Not sure if I should join this monster of a line."

"Like I said," the brown haired behind her said, "I saved a couple of spots for you. Why don't you just join us?"

"Hmm," Katie turned around, a smile on her lips. "Why not? But I'd prefer to be in the line with my friend Ash. What do you say?" She asked me.

The sudden question left me in confusion. "U-Um, sure." I smiled, exposing some teeth.

I could say the guy gritted his teeth. He perhaps had other agendas for her, and I arriving seemed to have done some damage to it. I'm glad I'm not _that_ dense anymore. Well, my Dad says I still have a long way to go. "Fine," he gave in at last.

And that's how, luck favored us once again, and I ended up in the first half of the enormous line to the registration counter.

During our wait in the line, Katie and I talked a bit about what we did after the Hoenn League. She told she had travelled a couple of other regions and started training in the Rosenburg City, all by herself.

Amidst our discussion she told the Rosenburg city and the Rosenburg Complex were two different things. The Rosenburg city was opened to all trainers who wished to train to become a top Pokémon trainer. A lot many trainers had costly villas in the Rosenburg City, and happen to be the closest to the airport. The Rosenburg complex was only opened during the world tournament, and specifically designed for accommodating stadiums, Pokémon Centers and residence for participating trainers.

So, the place where my Dad trained for ten years was where our plane landed. Not here.

After three hours of wait, my turn finally came. I extracted the registration card I took in the Viridian Pokémon Center from my pocket and handed it over to Nurse Joy.

"Ash Ketchum," she said, typing at something on the screen. "Sixteen year old."

"Yep," I said. She then removed the card from the machine where she inserted it. The other nurse beside her then handed a strange device along with the card.

"Thank you for participating in the PWT," she bowed. I walked away, letting Gary take the opportunity.

"Thanks," I said to Katie. If it weren't for her, it'd have taken another two hours more.

"Don't mention it," she said. "Anyway, nice to meet you again, Ash." She said extending an arm.

"The pleasure's mine," I smiled.

She smiled back before turning around, and disappeared into the crowd.

"You're a smooth talker you know that, Ashy-boy?" Gary joined me. "Well, I'm glad that we finished the boring part right away."

"What are these things anyway?" I asked, pointing to the new object in my hands.

"It's called the trainer Dex. It gives a lot of information like our battle schedule, who are we supposed to fight, and which stadium. It even has a map," Gary finished.

"Wow," I said looking at the object, "It sure is handy."

"Mhm," Gary nodded.

"Do you know what else is handy?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned around, wondering who it was—

Only to see a fist end up on my face, pretty hard.

The punch sent me back, staggering onto the Pokémon Center's floor.

"I guess it's my hand," the brown haired guy who was speaking to Katie earlier appeared.

"Hey," I said, holding my nose. It was really throbbing. Guy's sure tough. "What the heck was that for?"

"What the heck was that for?" He repeated the question as stepped forward, to hit me again, but Gary stepped in.

He placed his hand on the other guy's chest, "Calm down, buddy. Let's talk."

"Oh look, Mr. Smarty Pants," he glared at Gary. "This isn't about you, so put your filthy hands on something else." He then turned to me, "The next time I see you talking with Katie, I'll beat you to pulp."

"Who are you?" I asked, finally getting back to my feet. The punch was still giving me the spin. But I wasn't just going to let some random guy hit me and get away with it.

"I'm her boyfriend," he said, looking straight into my eyes.

"So that's what you say people about us?"

Startling all of us, the subject of discussion was standing, glaring at the guy who punched me.

"K-Katie?" He was dumbstruck. It wasn't just her. I didn't realize that the entire crowd around was watching us.

"You're just a stalker who keeps trailing me everywhere I go," she said. "You're my boyfriend? Not in your dreams." She shook her head.

"What the heck's so wrong with me?" He asked. "I've came at 3 AM just so that I could save a place for you in this damn line. You didn't even say a word to me properly," He pointed his finger at me. "And this random guy comes and you keep talking to him for three hours. What the hell should I do, then?"

"Well," I guess I shouldn't have taken her offer. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need your damn sorry," he glared at me.

Katie retorted at this, "I don't need you either. So back off from me, okay?"

The man looked like he was shot in the chest. I kinda feel sorry for him though. I didn't know if it's appropriate to say anything at this point. So, I decided to remain quite.

But my stomach didn't.

A thunderous rumble caught everyone's attention. The rumble was loud and clear enough to make everyone around turn their heads directly at me, without any need to confirm the source. They all looked like me strangely, as if I was some strange creature that dropped off from the moon.

I laughed in embarrassment, "I guess I'm hungry."

The rest of the crowd except the three guys burst into laughter at this. Gary pretended as if we didn't know each other. I could only scratch my hair in embarrassment.

Katie's frown softened. She walked up to me. "There's a restaurant nearby," Katie offered. "My treat."

"Gee thanks," I thanked. I was so hungry at this point, I didn't realize I pissed the guy again. I didn't notice it because he decided to remain silent at that moment.

But as we walked into the crowd on our way outside he yelled, "Hey Kid!"

I turned back and glared at him. That was the worst word he could pick up. Nobody calls me a kid.

He continued, "Remember my name. It's Richard. You're gonna regret making an enemy out of me."

I didn't respond to his threats, and simply continued to glare at him. He responded to my glare with a smirk. Maintaining the glare I turned around and proceeded to walk.

Soon we were out again. But this time, the sun was a whole lot brighter, and the crowd outside tripled.

"You're kidding me, right?" I asked, looking at how the line which originally ended inside the center itself, now spread out.

"They should've put a few more counters," Gary said. "Oh well, let's hope this is the only unsatisfactory part of this tournament."

"Well yes," Katie said, "This place's really wonderful actually. I know, why don't I explain how things work in here while we walk?"

Gary exchanged a glance with me, "That'd be really kind of you," he said, brushing his hair.

Okay, so who's the smooth talker now?

"Well," she started, taking the thing called Trainer Dex out of her pocket. The trainer Dex was the same size as a Pokédex. It had an upper screen and a keyboard in the bottom. It worked like a cell phone. "These things can work as a scheduler, a means to message your friends, it also has a map."

We listened intently as she continued, "Since placing the battle fixtures of all 40,000 odd trainers is impossible on the main screen, they send the necessary info through the T-Dex. It also gives info like where your match's going to be held, and how to go to that location from wherever you are."

"That's handy," Gary said. For some reasons, I involuntarily looked back. Yep, no one to quip me with a punch.

"I'll explain the Rosenburg Complex a bit," she said, tapping on the touch screen with her gentle fingers. The map of the Rosenburg appeared on the screen, and a red dot blinked on the middle bottom.

She placed a hand on the dot, "This dot is where you are, right now. The Rosenburg Complex has been split into seven regions. The place we are right now is the entrance region. It's meant for registrations, ticket bookings. It also has a few battle nets, for practicing purpose."

"Battle Nets?" I didn't know what it was.

"Those are small battlefields. From Tier 5 onwards, trainers are given their own nets to practice. But some of the tier 7 battles will be held in the nets itself."

"I've been wondering," Gary said. "What'd the format be? I mean there are forty thousand trainers for god's sake."

"I don't know either," She said, "But I do know one thing. There are enough battlefields to accommodate them."

Gary raised an eyebrow at this. She nodded, "Let me explain. Other than the entrance region itself, the Rosenburg Complex has six more regions. Five of those were meant to represent the stadia of Indigo Plateau, Mt. Silver, Evergrande, Lily of the Valley and Vertress. The sixth one has the grand stadium. Each main stadium is surrounded by five smaller stadiums, like the ones in the Pokémon Leagues."

"Ah," Gary punched his fist against his palm. "So each of these 'regions' are as big as the League village of the respective regions?"

"What?" I exclaimed. I honestly couldn't follow what Katie said, but when Gary elaborated it, I did realize it was big.

I've been to all those five League Villages, and if this so called Rosenburg has space for five of these villages, just how big could it be?

"Don't be so surprised yet," Katie said. "Each of these regions has their own hotel facilities, stalls, Pokémon Centers and not to mention a hundred battle nets."

"A hundred battle nets?!" This time both Gary and I exclaimed together.

"Yep," she said, "That's 106 battlefields per region and a total of 530 if you include all five regions. The sixth region is opened only from Tier 3 onwards."

Gary began calculating in his mind, "If the tournament would be a knockout in the first stage it would take around 20000 battles that would be forty battles per battlefield."

Katie joined him, "An average full battle takes two hours. Give half an hour for break between battles. They can easily do ten battles a day if they work round the clock. A knockout tournament means the first round will be completed in four days."

I honestly couldn't keep up with their level of math, and so remained silent.

"But," Katie said, "I heard this tournament isn't just going to be a knockout tournament."

"No surprise there," Gary said, "I guess they don't want this to be a game of luck. That's good, because even if we lose one match we needn't worry about getting eliminated in the first round itself."

"I personally think I shouldn't lose any match till I get the title," I said, "The moment you think losing once is okay, you'll lose. Because—"

"Only the ones who truly want to win can win," Gary completed before I did. "Honestly, I am sick of hearing that line again and again."

"Those were an Elite's words," I pouted. Gary shrugged, as if indifferent.

"Well, here we are!" Katie stopped. We were now standing before a restaurant that lay among a line of other stalls. The line extended from the entrance and encircled the entire region it seems.

The restaurant before which we stood had the name 'Rick Hoenn's' inscribed on it. It was a Hoenn cuisine restaurant.

"Well what are we waiting for," I said, "Let's go."

* * *

Gary nervously smiled at Katie as Ash continued to devour the food like a gluttonous Swinub. She was looking at Ash, who emptied the plates with ease. She could perhaps consider her wallet the next time she wants to treat Ash to anything.

"I'm full," Ash said finally after finishing his fifth plate. Was it just his feeling or did Ash's hunger go up in the span of one year? "Thanks, Katie," he said. Well at least his manners were top notch.

Now that everyone was finished, Gary thought it's better if he called the waiter for the bill. He turned to the counter, and saw an unexpected commotion.

"How can you _not_ have a hamburger?" A loud voice demanded.

Commotions at restaurants were always funny, because the reasons were always ridiculous.

"What's going on?" Katie inquired.

"Well," Gary said, "Apparently someone wants a hamburger and this place doesn't have them."

"That voice," for some reason Ash stood up. "I think I heard it somewhere. I'm going to take a look."

The trio walked to the center of commotion. Amongst the crowd surrounding they spotted a thin, timid restaurant manager, a very angry waitress, and a stout orange haired guy, dressed in an equally orange robes, that seemed to have directly descended from Middle Age Hoenn.

Gary apparently didn't recognize him but, "Morrison?" Ash did.

The orange guy responded, and turned to Ash. His face brightened all of a sudden. "Ash," he pushed the crowd away. The two then slapped their palms and held each other's hands firmly, as if they were arm wrestling. "You've grown dude!"

Ash exclaimed, "You too!" He then paused and said slowly, "A bit more in the horizontal direction."

Morrison obviously didn't hear that. "I'd like to catch up with you, but I have a hamburger to deal with. Which complex is your hotel in?" He asked.

Ash responded with a blank face. Obviously he didn't check that yet. "Indigo," Gary answered for him.

"That's cool," Morrison jumped, "I got mine in Vertress though." He suddenly seemed disappointed.

"Let's hangout in the evening," Ash said, realizing his long-lost friend was preoccupied with something else. The two boys then parted each other's hands.

"Now what were we talking about?" Morrison turned around.

"Hamburger," the manager said meekly, earning a cold glare from the waitress.

"Oh yeah, where's my hamburger!"

* * *

"I can't believe it," Ash said as they walked out of the restaurant. "I just realized I'm going to meet all the rivals I have met throughout my journeys."

Katie wanted to laugh, but restrained because it seemed inappropriate. This guy, Ash was really strange. At some point she wondered if he thinks before he speaks. But his attitude to battle-related things was well, _interesting_. "Why didn't you realize that a bit before?" She asked, in a teasing manner.

"Well, I didn't think of it," he replied innocently, not detecting her mocking tone. Oh well, being subtle won't be a problem then. He burst suddenly, "Hey Katie, I'm planning on gathering all my friends at one place. Will you join us?"

"I can't," she refused. She was planning to spend her time on her Pokémon. By tonight, the matchups for the tournament will be decided. "Besides you are in Indigo while I'd be in Silver region. I'd have to take the train to get to your place. It'd be quite tiresome wouldn't it?"

"Well," Ash paused. "A train?"

She decided it would be for the best if she explained it to him. "The seven regions are separated from each other by the Rosenburg Forest. Or let me rephrase that, the Rosenburg complex was built by cutting the Rosenburg forest into parts. You could walk from one region to the other, but it'd take a day."

"Makes sense," he nodded. Then suddenly brightened in realization, "Wait. Trains? I'm pretty sure Cilan would be impressed."

Must be one of his friends.

"You do know how to impress people," a sour, and a familiar voice rang through her ears.

"Oh," she sighed. "Not you again, Richard."

Standing before them was the trio of Richard, and his two _friends._

"You," he pointed a finger at her. "I've been after you like a Growlithe for the past seven years. I invited you to dinner countless number of times. Oh heck you didn't even turn up for a coffee. And this guy comes—" He glared at Ash. "And ruins everything."

"Look," she retorted. This was getting annoying. "I don't care what you think. Just get out of my way."

"Why don't you at least choose a proper guy?!" He exclaimed. "Look at this _kid_, he doesn't look like he'd last the first round."

"What did you say?" Ash glared at Richard.

"You heard him well," the guy beside Richard, the black haired Darryl responded. He was one of Richard's lackeys. They didn't have much luck as trainers, but they were good at aiding Richard in arguments. She honestly didn't see much in them beyond that.

To his credit, Ash didn't get all riled up. Judging his childish character, she expected him to be fired up by Richard's comments. He actually seemed so when Richard called him a kid. But now he looked calm.

Scarily calm.

A smirk spread across Ash's face. "You don't even have a clue how strong I am. Do you?"

Richard was obviously annoyed by the confidence in Ash's face. It was as if a different person stood before them, than the seemingly goofy kid a few seconds ago.

"Oh yeah," Richard grumbled. "Why don't we battle?" He spouted out at last.

* * *

And that's how we ended up in a 'battle net'.

The P.L.A's rule explicitly stated that any battles outside the stadiums are strictly prohibited. So we had to make the nearby battle net our battlefield.

Katie, Gary and Richard's friends occupied the line of benches to the right, while Richard stood before me, a frown on his face.

He obviously didn't want to battle me at first. He gave his word accidentally and forced himself to do it.

What Dad said was correct. Every time someone tries to rile you up, if you stay calm, then it hits them back double as hard. It's working.

"We'll have a one-on-one battle," he said, enlarging a Pokéball. "Okay?"

"We could have a full battle if you aren't scared," I taunted him.

If you win a mental battle against your opponent, then you already won half the battle.

"You think you are smart, aren't you?" He, much to my surprise didn't seem to be so worked up. "Sadly, I can see through your cheap tricks."

What did he—

Wait. I see. He was trying to work me up again. I smirked, "Good for you. So can I."

He smiled in return, "Let's see how well you can actually see…" he enlarged his Pokéball, and gave it a kiss. "Slash through them, Escavalier!"

The Armor Pokémon materialized in no time. It was a half-bug, half-steel type. The Pokémon had two arms that qualified more as a spear than a hand. It had a red projection on its bottom that supported it on the ground. The Pokémon wore a sharp glare, telling me that he means business.

"Pikachu," I commanded my best friend. I'm going to start with my first Pokémon for my first battle in Rosenburg.

Either Pokémon have exchanged glares, quickly developing the hostilities in between them.

"I'll make the first move, you know?" Richard said.

Well I'm good with that. But before I start battling, there's something Gary needs to know. "Gary you asked me why I tied up Pikachu's tail for two weeks, right?"

Gary remained passive, but he nodded.

I turned to Richard, "Well you're going to know now."

Richard seemed ready, I simply had to signal him to start, and I believe my last sentence did so.

He raised him arm and slashed it through the air, "Escavalier, X-Scissor!"

The Armor Pokémon, despite its lack of legs charged at a speed unbelievable for a heavy Pokémon.

"It's fast," I muttered. "But let's see about it. Pikachu, dodge!"

As Escavalier approached Pikachu, it lifted its hands to bring them down simultaneously in an X-shape.

There was a confident smirk even on Pikachu's face. Despite facing a powerful attack, he was more than assured that he could dodge an attack so straightforward.

Just as Escavalier's dangerous lances came to strike Pikachu, the yellow rodent flipped on his back, and landed on his tail. The tail despite how thin it looked worked like a spring and lifted the rodent into the air with ease.

"Esca!" Escavalier was stunned to see the Pokémon that once stood before it jump into the air in a jiffy.

There was an equally look of surprise on Richard's face, but he seemed more composed than his Pokémon.

"Now," I yelled my first attack, "Iron Tail!"

As Pikachu flipped in the air, the yellow tail shone with energy. The light amplified by the sunlight, blinded Escavalier. The Pokémon instinctively braced itself, by crossing its arms in defense against the upcoming move.

With an energetic 'Chu', Pikachu began spinning in the air like a top. The spinning stopped as it closed on to Escavalier and landed the Iron Tail powered by the momentum of spinning on Escavalier.

_Clang!_

That was the sound when steel met steel.

The attack landed with a brutal force, pushing Escavalier back to the ground. The red projection on its bottom dug itself deeply into the ground, trying to anchor Escavalier against the ground.

Escavalier's arms seemed to take the advantage as they struggled to push the Iron Tail back. But they finally gave away, as the Iron Tail pushed back the steel-type with intense momentum.

"What's up with that ridiculous attack power?!" Richard exclaimed, realizing Pikachu was having the upper hand.

The ground failed to anchor Escavalier at its position. As Escavalier was pushed back by the attack's momentum, the ridge on its bottom plowed through the ground, forming a neat trail across the field.

Had Escavalier like most Pokémon had two legs, it'd have fallen on its back, but it didn't. It's back almost touched the ground, but before that happened Escavalier balanced itself on the ridge, and pushed itself back up straight.

Richard looked shocked and angry. A similar reaction could be seen on the faces of Gary, Katie and the other two.

The smirk on my face only grew wider at that. "Let's not let him rest," I pointed at Escavalier. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

The rodent's cheeks flashed with electricity. Then a powerful jolt shot out from the Pokémon's body at the steel type.

The attack was so powerful that, it ripped the ground that was already plowed by Escavalier's ridge wide open, and proceeded to—

Meanwhile, Richard didn't seem to be scared. "That won't work," he yelled as he punched either of his fists forward. "Escavalier, you know what to do."

As the blast of electricity approached it, the Pokémon's arms began to glow with blue energy. It then placed the lance-like arms before the electric attack. The next second, something amazing happened.

Yes, much to my surprise, the electric attack split into thin streams of electricity as if it were water. The trickles of electricity rained on the ground like the glistening sparks of fireworks.

"It split the electricity?" Gary exclaimed from the sidelines.

I couldn't find any words to say. They simply missed my mouth. "B-But…" How the hell did it split _electricity?_ Electricity wasn't a physical object like water. It was simply energy.

"I've used energy to cut energy," Richard shrugged. "As simple as that."

I see. Escavalier's arms glowed with the same energy like when it used X-Scissor.

"My Escavalier's arms are sharp enough to split even electricity," he smirked. "Even if a teensy bit of electricity strikes it, that ridge over there grounds it to safety. So basically your thunderbolt was only a little more than tickling for my Escavalier."

"I never knew you could defend like that," I said, halfheartedly complementing him. In that case, "How about an attack like this?" I pumped my fists, "Electro ball!"

Pikachu stood firmly on its four legs, pumping energy into its tall. The electricity surged through Pikachu, forming a sphere of energy thereafter.

"Let's rip it with a Megahorn!"

'_Rip it?!'_

Following Richard's command, Escavalier aimed one of its lances at Pikachu and shot itself like a missile towards my buddy. The arm began to glow with an intense blue energy. The power was so much that the air around started to form a turbulent shield around Escavalier.

Pikachu spun around and tossed the electric attack at the steel type.

The sharp attack struck the ball, but the lance pierced right through it, resulting in an explosion. But the discharged electricity, thanks to the momentum developed by Megahorn failed to strike Escavalier. It passed through the attack, with minimal damage and shot straight at Pikachu.

But Pikachu wasn't the kind to fall so easily.

Escavalier breezed through where Pikachu once stood, only to find the rodent above its head.

"Iron Tail!"

Richard commanded almost instantaneously, "Block it with X-Scissor!"

Escavalier's arms shone with the blue energy once more. As Pikachu prepared to slam Iron Tail onto Escavalier's face, the Pokémon parried away the attack successfully with its glowing left arm.

As soon as the attack failed to hit, Richard's facial expression eased up. But—

"It's not over yet!" I exclaimed, "Double Iron Tail!"

Pikachu spun in the air right after, and attacked Escavalier again, from the right side this time. But Escavalier's right arm came just in time to block the attack on its face.

"Triple Iron Tail!"

The close combat was far from over. With movements that are possible only to an extremely flexible rodent, Pikachu spun around once more and this time performed a vertical slash through the middle.

"Block with X-Scissor Again!" Richard yelled.

The attack, powered by Pikachu's spins from the first two Iron Tails, struck with a ground breaking momentum.

Had it been anything less defensive, the Pokémon would have had its face buried in the ground by now.

But Escavalier's two arms, crossed in an X, proved to be more than a perfect defense.

As either Pokémon's attacks failed to pierce through the other, both Pokémon pushed with a final effort and propelled back away from each other.

Now standing apart, either Pokémon grunted at each other in acknowledgment.

The feeling was mutual for the trainers. Richard carried a simple smirk, "You're not bad," he said. "But there's more in our arsenal than that."

"Likewise," I said. While it's true that Iron Tail and Thunderbolt were matched by X-Scissor, we still had a fourth move.

Agility.

Iron Tail, Agility, Thunderbolt and Electroball. That was my Pikachu's secondary move-set.

Agility boosts up Electroball's power. Once we're fast enough for Escavalier even that Megahorn wasn't gonna stand a chance against us.

I opened my mouth to speak out my next command but—

My attention was caught by something that moved in the corner of my vision. A jeep was passing by the road. My vision narrowed on it the second I identified the people on the jeep.

They were—

"Team Rocket!"

* * *

The battle was splendid. Pikachu's movements left Gary completely dazed and shocked, but much to his discomfort that Escavalier managed to put up well against the rodent.

He was envious, but enjoying at the same time. It was _that_ good.

He could say the same for Katie. He saw her clenching her fists when she noticed Pikachu's power.

There was more to this battle. But then suddenly, Ash's attention shifted to something behind Gary, outside on the main road.

"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled.

The next instant, he was dashing through the gate, chasing a jeep that trailed off into a distance.

"Pikapi," Pikachu called out for the charging trainer. It looked back indecisive as to what to do, and finally followed its trainer after apologizing to the Escavalier.

"Hey wait," Gary tried to stop him at the same time. He ended up running behind them too.

* * *

I am positive. It was them. The combination of a violet hair, pink hair and a Meowth, there wasn't any other possibility.

So, I ended up chasing the jeep. The people on the Jeep didn't notice me and soon they were only a distant dot on the road.

To my luck, I spotted them taking a turn at the end of the long road that led to a dead end.

I realized the road stood before a line of restaurants, similar to the one we visited earlier.

I followed the jeep's path and walked right to the end, and took the turn to the left.

The area behind the line of shops seemed like a dump yard at first. Upon closer inspection, I realized these were all back entrances used by the employees. The area behind wasn't exactly a dump yard, but that's where most of the garbage was being thrown away.

The jeep in question stood a few shops away from me, behind some restaurant. The trio was casually chatting to each other, as they unloaded the cartons and took them into the building.

What the heck was Team Rocket doing in a restaurant? Were they planning something sinister? Were they doing some under-the-table business behind the restaurant?

Without realizing it, I moved as forward as possible, carefully hiding behind a garbage can.

"Well two more cartons and we're done," the purple haired James rubbed the sweat off his face. He seems to be doing the hard work for all the three.

"Hurry up, James," the pink haired Jessie said impatiently as she twirled her long hair.

The conversation seems to be normal, and they weren't wearing their uniforms either. Perhaps—

Perhaps, they might have changed for good.

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have suspected them too much. I mean, they weren't that bad when they weren't members of Team Rocket, and Team Rocket was disbanded so—

"You know eavesdropping isn't such a good idea," suddenly a voice whispered into my ears.

The cold whisper in my ears terrified me. Instinctively I jumped forward, and ended up crashing on the trash can in front.

The net result was me ending up in a pile of thrash.

I jumped back to my feet once more and faced the guy who frightened me.

He was red-haired guy, almost my age. He wore a blue dress, with red outlines. He had cold grey eyes that watched me scamper with glee.

The commotion apparently alerted the trio I was eavesdropping on too.

"Well if it isn't the twerp," Meowth greeted me from behind.

Jessie laughed for some reason, "My, I thought the entrance was on the front."

"Apparently he's lost," James said flicking his hair a bit.

At that moment I realized I was in danger.

**Team Rocket's JJ&M have made their appearance at last. Now what role would they serve in this story? A serious one? A comedic one? **

**Also I had a moment of inspiration last week, and so here's a snippet of a possible future chapter. I'm not sure if I'll include it in the actual chapter or not.**

**Don't read this if you don't like snippets of future chapters…**

* * *

**Possible spoiler of a possible future chapter: (Note: Italicized dialogue indicates commentary like in the anime.)**

"_This full battle between Ash Ketchum and Morrison keeps on raging on. Right now Morrison has the upper hand, having left with two Pokémon, one of which is completely unharmed."_

On the other hand I still have only one Pokémon left. Damn it all.

"_Ketchum's only hope lies in his sixth Pokémon, Torterra!"_

'_That's right!' _I said to myself. I still have Torterra left. Not to mention, Morrison's Gliscor was pretty tired.

As if to say my supposition was right, Morrison's Gliscor landed on its short feet. It was heaving for breath, and its tail seems to be pretty bruised.

"We can win this," I said kissing my last Pokéball before tossing it. "Torterra, I choose you!"

For the second time, the continent Pokémon materialized with a menacing roar. His ego was pretty much hurt after getting commissioned out of the battle by Morrison's Swampert.

"_Gliscor vs. Torterra! Will Ash Ketchum turn this battle around? Or will Torterra lose? The fate of this young trainer lies on the heavy shell of this Pokémon."_

Torterra glared at its opponent, and gave off an intimidating grunt. Gliscor retorted with its own battle cry.

Morrison knows Gliscor doesn't have much strength left. Then in that case, he'll try to finish this off in one go.

Morrison's face shone with excitement. He believes he has a good chance of winning against me. He could try attacking me with a super effective move.

"Gliscor!" He yelled. "Use Aerial Ace!"

Here it comes.

"Torterra," I ordered the Pokémon. "Let it come closer!"


	11. Old Friends, New Rivals and Team Rocket

**This update is lot faster than even I imagined.**

**11. Old Friends, New Rivals and Team Rocket! Part II**

"Apparently he's lost," James said flicking his hair a bit.

The red-haired guy smirked at this. Judging by the arrogant smile on his face, this guy could be a member of Team Rocket. But he's about the same age as I. I never knew there were trainers my age in Team Rocket.

More than that, my cover's been blown. Well I didn't particularly try hard anyway. Since this had become a face-to-face confrontation, it's better if I ask what's going in my mind.

"Team Rocket," I demanded the trio. "What the hell are you guys up to this time?"

"Hmm?" James raised an eyebrow at this. "I thought we're just running a restaurant." He feigned innocence.

"A restaurant?" I was blank. Well it's true that they weren't doing anything suspicious earlier. Did I jump the gun?

"Absolutely," Meowth said. He shrugged his shoulders, "What else would we do in a place like this?"

"You twerps are really paranoid aren't you?" Jessie seemed like she was genuinely insulted. "We were trying to lead an honest life for a change." She glared, as if demanding an apology.

I guess I did jump the gun. But still, these people have done enough to warrant a suspicion throughout their lives. One can't just simply expect themselves to come back to social life after living a criminal one.

"Cut the crap," the guy behind admonished the trio. "Look," he told me with a condescending tone. "You're right. Team Rocket's doing something fishy." He then spread his lips in a crooked smile, "But I tell you, there's nothing you can do about it."

I frowned at this. This guy whoever he was could be trying to mess with me. "I wonder about it." I said, in a challenging tone. I've stopped these guys more than a hundred times.

"Oh, I am sure," he gave a quick reply. "There's nothing you or anyone for that matter could do to stop Team Rocket." He then scoffed, "Except me of course."

That caught me off guard. I was actually under the delusion that he was a member of Team Rocket. So why would he want he want to stop Team Rocket? He wasn't a member then? Then who the heck was he? "Who are you?" I asked the same, not lowering my tone.

"Me?" He smiled at my question, "Well I am the guy who despises Team Rocket the most. My name's Silver," he said placing his hands inside his pockets, "if you want to remember that is."

"He's Giovanni's son," James said, "He forgets to add that quite often."

_Giovanni's son?!_ I watched the red-haired guy in surprise. Now that he mentioned it, their eyes look scarily similar. No wonder they were giving me some kind of chills every time I looked at them. It's probably true because he didn't deny it, yet.

"Yeah," Silver smirked at James, "I don't find that part particularly memorable."

Looks like Dad and I weren't the only ones with a strange father-son relationship. I could relate to this Silver guy in that fashion, I guess.

My frown relaxed, "So you want to stop Team Rocket?"

The red-haired guy closed his eyes as if to dismiss my comment. "Don't get the wrong idea," he sneered. "I don't need the likes of you to help me. Besides," he said, "You don't even have a clue what you're going up against."

And I don't need to know either. As long as they stay away from the tournament, I don't care what they'd do. "It doesn't matter. I'll just stop them if they try something funny."

Silver laughed at this, as if it were some joke. "Like I said," he said in a low voice. "You don't even have a clue."

"Then what is it?" I demanded. Honestly, this guy's getting on my nerves.

"Its plain simple," his tone mirrored what he said. "You can't touch Team Rocket anymore because they aren't trying anything illegal."

"In fact twerp," the violet-haired James spoke, "It's you who is breaking the law if you meddle unnecessarily with us."

"So," Silver said with a cocky smile, "Little kid," he added that to insult me. "It's better if you just shut your mouth and get the hell away from here." He looked serious when he said the next words. "I and only I will deal with this bunch of incompetent fools."

He's getting on my nerves, but it's better if I stay calm. I shouldn't go out of control, unless I had some secret subconscious wish to be disqualified from the tournament. Team Rocket weren't trying anything dubious for now. Moreover it seems this guy seems to have his own agenda against them. Better step back.

"Fine," I frowned. "But remember I'm not letting this go." I gave them a final warning before leaving the location as the trio watched me disappear with amused looks, because this was the first time I backed out before sending them blasting away.

* * *

"Ash!" Gary yelled as his friend appeared from what seemed like an alley connected to the area behind the restaurants.

The raven-haired trainer had a serious look on his face, as evident from the eyebrows that were drawn in a frown and the lips that shaped into a thin line. He appeared to be deep in thought because he looked surprised when Gary called out for him.

Gary waited expecting him to say something, but Ash remained silent evidently still thinking about whatever he had in mind. "What's wrong?" Gary asked.

He didn't say anything for a while. He said at last, "I'm not sure about it but it seems Team Rocket's trying something strange."

Ash didn't look like he was sure about it. It didn't seem like an emergency either because he looked calm about it. "What exactly?" Katie asked, apparently puzzled by Ash's vague reply too.

The trainer shook his head, "I don't know," he frowned when he said so. "They weren't doing anything wrong right now but—"

"You suspect them to do something in the future?" Gary asked. It made sense. That bunch of people weren't the kind one should let free around a major league competition.

"It's better if we contact Officer Jenny then," Katie suggested.

"Or better," Gary said, "Let's inform it to Mr. Goodsho." He was pretty sure the old man would find a way to kick these people out once for all.

Ash seemed to be brightened up by the idea. "Yeah," he said. "That's better." He looked relieved.

"Then it's settled," the woman smiled. "I'll contact Mr. Goodsho for you guys," she suggested. "You guys have the Checkup left right?"

Speaking of which, yes they had something important left to do. All participating trainers need to get their Pokémon scanned by a certified league Doctor. It was a latest countermeasure to prevent something like the Pokérus incident from happening.

Ash seems to know its importance pretty well too because he simply nodded. Although it was to be expected, his father was involved in the whole incident after all.

"Thank you Katie," the raven-haired trainer said. He then scratched his hair as he remembered something. "What about the battle?" He asked.

"Richard can go to hell if he wants," Katie said, looking sour at the mention of the guy's name. "You won't like going to the center during the rush hour."

Gary agreed. "We need to get to Indigo," he said. They were assigned to Indigo region so they were to have their Pokémon checked up in the same region's Pokémon center. It was customary to follow that as informed in the rulebook.

"The station's pretty close from here," Katie said, "Just walk south and you'll see the terminal."

"We're indebted to you Katie," Gary smiled. She had been helpful since their arrival in the league. Besides she even took the responsibility of informing Mr. Goodsho about Team Rocket.

She shrugged it off and chuckled, "I'm just doing whatever I can." She looked beautiful when she smiled like that. Certainly, she was a woman men could easily fall for. He turned to Ash, wondering if the raven-haired trainer shared any similar sentiments.

The said guy of course was busy speaking with his Pikachu, apparently commending its performance against Escavalier earlier. "We'll meet the guy again sometime," he said as he placed the rodent on his shoulder. "Let's make sure we win it the next time."

"Pika!" The Pokémon cried in agreement.

"Well then," Ash said as they prepared to bid the woman a farewell. "Let's meet in the opening ceremony, Katie."

"I wouldn't actually count on that," Katie smiled refusing it politely. "Well, let's say it's a pleasure to meet the two of you."

"The pleasure is mine," Gary said brushing his hair for one final time before they parted, walking away in different directions. Katie told him earlier that she had some shopping to do.

Judging by her attitude she seemed to be the reserved type. No wonder she refused Ash's offers to meet again. The woman's shrewd. It's pretty hard to make a woman like that fall for you. Poor Richard, he picked the wrong girl.

* * *

**The PLA Board Committee:**

"Well my friends," Giovanni announced, as he addressed the various board members. "It's time we decide on what we talked about, yesterday. Once Goodsho comes, we shall begin the voting."

Giovanni eyed the people. His main attention was on Scott, the man who owned 14.7% of the shares after the recent adjustment. He was second to Goodsho, in that regard. Giovanni regarded him with more importance because his vote was extremely valuable to him.

Scott was the hardest to convince, as he was mostly on Goodsho's favor. Together they would hold a good 45.5%. It was troublesome to win as long as they stood together. But Giovanni did make his moves well. There was a good chance that Scott would vote him. If only he could find a way to vanquish Goodsho completely.

Speaking of which, the old man was late, he noticed. The rest of the board stood up as the old man came in, along with a blonde man in a business suit.

Now, who was this person? Giovanni mused. He certainly wasn't in the meeting yesterday, was he? He definitely wasn't a board member.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Goodsho said as he sat down. The new person sat in an empty seat beside Goodsho. The person, for some reason shot a smile at Giovanni that made the former Rocket Boss feel irritated. "Let me introduce you," he pointed to the man beside him. "Mr. Harvey McMillan."

The board nodded silently. "As Mr. Giovanni stated yesterday," Goodsho smiled at him, "I'm getting old. Ninety-five is certainly not a small number."

What the hell are you up to old geezer? Giovanni asked silently.

"I'll come to the point," Goodsho said, looking at the impatience in Giovanni's eyes. "Mr. Harvey will henceforth make decisions for me. He'll speak on my behalf in the board meetings. Whatever comes through his lips will be my words. I hope that is clear."

"Is that even legally possible?" Giovanni asked, obviously troubled. He definitely didn't like the smug smile the new face was carrying. The old man was too easy to work with.

"After seeing you standing here," Goodsho said bitterly. "Oh, I think anything is possible."

Giovanni wanted to crush the old man's arrogant face. Only a ton of patience stopped him from doing so.

"In fact it is," the man named Harvey spoke for the first time. "Besides, I only speak for Mr. Goodsho. Things like voting rights still belong to him. The words are mine, the decisions are his."

"Fine," Giovanni grumbled as the man named Harvey continued to smile. "Well, as we have decided yesterday. We shall continue the voting procedure."

"Before that Mr. Giovanni," Harvey said, "I believe a few clarifications for this 'new policy' of yours might be needed."

Giovanni grit his teeth. He knew the pretty blonde guy in suit was specifically appointed to put a brake to his plan. But he wouldn't let some random nobody destroy his plan.

"What do you need?" Giovanni asked after much deliberation.

* * *

The station was well, nothing unlike something one would expect from one. There was a big deal of a crowd. The train facilities were free for both participants and the visitors. So there wasn't a queue for a ticket counter like one would expect.

The line was split in three locations, each connected to a different set of escalators. The routes that connected onto the foot-over bridge split into six platforms, each for one other region.

There were too many trains here, I mused. This was indeed a paradise for someone who liked trains like Cilan for example. The thought of Cilan going gaga over the locomotives made me smile.

"Something funny?" Gary asked, noticing my smile.

We walked downstairs. "Well, if Cilan were here he would be really crazy. You really need to see him when he's around trains."

"I think I can picture the scene," Gary said looking at something, strangely.

I followed his cue and looked in the same direction, and spotted a certain green-haired man. He was literally trembling with ecstasy.

"The wonderful noise created by the sirens," he closed his eyes in delight. "The rumbling of the tracks when a train approaches the station," he spun around and fell to his knees, "Ah, isn't this just the most beautiful thing in the world? A wonderful vehicle that connects cities and towns along with the hearts of the people in it. That's what I would call a train!"

"And that's what I would call a sommelier," Gary sighed, looking slightly embarrassed. Well it's true that the people around were giving Cilan strange looks but it's actually nice to openly express whatever you feel in your heart. Personally, I like that part of Cilan.

"Cilan!" I waved to the sommelier. The sommelier opened his eyes, identifying the voice.

"Ash," his voice rang in recognition. He hummed in excitement, "Your face gives the taste of a seasoned trainer, brimming with the juice called confidence. And you seem to have grown quite a lot physically too." He jumped on one foot and announced, "What a fantastic taste!"

I scratched my hair sheepishly. "Thank you, Cilan."

"I presume you were enjoying 'tasting' the beauty of these trains?" Gary asked, half-sarcastic.

"_Non._" Cilan said waving his finger. "I decided to put that for later. I'm on my way to our residence."

"Where were you assigned to?" I asked, excited. It would be really wonderful if all of us stayed close to each other.

"We all registered together, remember?" Gary said, "I bet everyone fell in the same place."

"Really!" I jumped eagerly. "That's awesome."

Cilan and Gary smiled at this. The green-haired sommelier then checked his watch, "It's about time Iris and Misty return," he frowned, "Don't tell me they forgot about me and left to someplace else."

Misty and Iris were here too? It seems a couple of people have come during the time we spent on breakfast, battling Richard and chasing Team Rocket. "Have you completed the Checkup, Cilan?" I asked.

The sommelier scratched his hair at this, "I'm worried about that actually. Misty and Iris don't need to check their Pokémon right now. On the other hand," he smiled helplessly. Yeah, he needs to.

"Then come with us," Gary suggested, "Girls forget everything when they get down to shopping."

Ping-Pong!

"_Attention passengers!_" A voice rang throughout the station. "_The next train to Indigo will be departing in two minutes."_

"We gotta go," I ushered the two. The next train won't be here in fifteen minutes or so.

* * *

As the train started towards its destination, the Indigo Region, Cilan indulged us by speaking a few things about the railway system in Rosenburg. The system was laid specifically for the tournament, and was apparently Scott's idea. The subway masters Emmet and Ingo, who were reputed for running the famous Nimbasa subway, were put in charge of the system

The train crossed the Central region. Several trees started to move past us as the train slowly entered the Rosenburg forest.

While I was listening to Cilan, my focus was mostly on the forest outside. There were lots of Pokémon from different regions. I saw a group of Slakoth watch the train zoom past them lazily. There were also other Pokémon like Hoot-Hoot that perched in the tree holes. In just two minutes I spotted around twenty different species of Pokémon. Most of them were bug types like Wurmple, Seewaddle while there were a few dangerous ones like Seviper.

"Isn't this just awesome?" I said, looking at the congregation of wildlife from different regions in one place. Rosenburg was certainly the best place in the world for Pokémon trainers.

"It is," Cilan exclaimed. "Nothing can top the railway system run by Emmet and Ingo."

Gary gave Cilan a helpless smile, "I think he was talking about the Pokémon outside."

"Oh," Cilan rubbed his chin. "But still isn't this system just—"

Cilan's words were cut off when the entire train jerked to a stop, causing a couple of standing passengers to stumble.

"Awesome?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

A couple of passengers looked through the windows wondering what happened.

"There's smoke coming from the engine side," one of them said.

I exchanged a glance with Cilan. "Let's check it out."

* * *

Cilan was both excited and disappointed. Disappointed that the system he had been praising nonstop for the past few minutes failed, excited that he could try doing something to help fix it.

The three young men pushed through the crowd that gathered near the front carriage. The smoke from earlier seemed to be a minor one because there was no trace of it, other than the smell of burnt wires.

"It's nothing serious," a voice that probably belonged to a teenager said. "Just a minor overload issue. Nothing we can't handle. Isn't that right, Sparky?"

"Sparky?" Ash muttered. A smile spread across his face, "Could it be?" He asked his rodent partner.

"Excuse me," the raven-haired trainer apologized as he pushed through the crowd of people. The sommelier and the brown-haired exchanged a confused glance but decided to follow him into the crowd.

Standing amidst the worried passengers was a boy who was of the same age as Ash. It's not just his age, but the way he dressed, the way he had a rodent on his shoulder everything was similar to Ash.

"Ritchie!" Ash exclaimed as he neared the boy.

The boy turned his head towards the trio at the mention of his name. His eyes widened in surprise when they met Ash's. "Ash," the boy and the raven-haired trainer ended up shaking hands with each other. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "We'll catch up later though," he said, turning serious. "What's going on?"

Ritchie turned to the engine that seemed to be the source of the black smoke from earlier. "A couple of wires were eaten by some Bidoof or Rattata, not sure which." Those Pokémon must have had a great shock.

"Hmm," Cilan scratched his chin in his thinking mode. "That could have led to a short circuit. We need to get to the station to fix that though."

"Exactly," Ritchie said, acknowledging Cilan's knowledge. "If we managed to get to Indigo somehow, I've contacted Emmet to send someone."

"Let's push it all the way then!" Ash said fletching his muscles.

Both Ritchie and Cilan smiled at this while Gary hit his head with his palm. "Ash, it's a train. You can't exactly push it."

"You haven't changed much have you?" Ritchie said, as either of them laughed together. "I actually have a plan. I need to borrow your Pikachu for a bit though."

Cilan made a good guess. He could try using the rodent's electricity as the power source. The engines were running fine. It was the source wire that was actually burned to crisp, so the Pokémon's electricity could run them till Indigo at least.

"Will two Pikachu be enough?" Someone among the crowd asked.

Ritchie smirked at this, "For a while, probably."

After that, either rodents were asked to take a wire connected to the engine's main and put it against their cheeks. The locomotive moved once more, albeit at a slower pace than it's usual. A couple of other trainers helped out by sending their own electric types after they were exhausted. Over all, the journey went smooth until Indigo.

* * *

"So," Giovanni asked. "You are questioning the authenticity of our items." Giovanni wanted to laugh. He expected the man called Harvey McMillan to put him in some kind of deep trouble, considering how Goodsho appointed him as his spokesperson. But he came up with a simple straight-forward approach, something he was more than prepared for.

"I have brought our engineer for that," Giovanni showed to the man beside him. "Meet Mr. Malcolm, the supervising engineer for the production of all our hold items."

"If you don't mind Mr. Giovanni," Harvey said, "I need to ask Mr. Malcolm a few questions."

"Feel free," Giovanni said, resting on his chair. Victory was assured to be his.

"What's the percentage of defective items in your production unit, Malcolm?" Harvey asked.

Malcolm smiled at this, "I hoped you to ask something else. We are proud to say that our success rate is 99.97%. We are highly efficient, and committed towards work. We worry about the health of the Pokémon. A defective item is something we see upon as a sin."

The rest of the board members smiled at Giovanni, who smiled back positively. Goodsho was sweating profusely. Obviously, the old man's strategy to trust this so-called Harvey failed. 99.97% of successful production, not something that old geezer can fight on.

Giovanni spoke, "As we have clarified your doubts, Mr. Harvey could we move on to the voting?" Even Scott was looking at Giovanni, positively. Yes, he won this.

"I'm not done, actually," Harvey said, a business smile on his face. "0.03% of defective products, you say Malcolm?"

"Yes," the engineer nodded. "Not many industries can achieve that level of efficiency."

"Not many industries _need_ that efficiency," Harvey retorted, pausing everyone's smile. A silence followed instead. "Venerable members," he said turning to the board. "There are a total of 40,000 trainers in this prestigious tournament. Each trainer could on an average have like ten Pokémon. Am I right, Mr. Giovanni?"

Giovanni nodded, "That is indeed close to our own assumption."

"Productions of about four hundred thousand hold items need to be done to run this tournament," Harvey said, "And certainly 0.03% seems like a small value even on such a large scale. Now, my friends just imagine a prestigious final match. Suppose the title favorite Mr. J Valentine, and the champion of Sinnoh, Miss Cynthia have locked horns in a final match with their respective ace Pokémon, Excadrill and Garchomp. Each equipped with these hold items."

Giovanni had a sneaking suspicion of what the man was supposed to say, "And now this 0.03%, it could fall anywhere. Sorry for my language, but probability is a bitch. It could bite us from any direction. Certainly a company with 400,000 units to produce can't test each and every item before sending them out. No mass production unit can guarantee that. Should we afford the whole league's future on this 0.03%?"

"You can't say no to the whole thing because of a mere 0.03%!" Giovanni exclaimed.

"You can't play with probability in a tournament like this," Harvey raised his voice, but not shouting at the same time. "These people have invested millions into this. The whole tournament will be a flop if even one match gets ruined because of _your_ hold items scheme. Even F-1 cars fail on the tracks. There's no guarantee to anything mechanical in this world. There's a heavy chance a hot favorite match could be ruined."

"No, it won't," Giovanni slammed his fist against his desk. "Hold Items supplied for important matches will be specifically tested."

"Does that mean we ignore the rest of the masses?" Harvey asked. "Mr. Scott," he turned to the fat man. "Bias is something you don't like, do you? Isn't that why you set up this mass tournament in the first place?"

Scott nodded, "I have to agree."

How dare that—! Giovanni's face turned red. This damned Harvey keeps reversing the logic and uses it as a weapon. He didn't speak anything. Harvey continued, "If an ordinary trainer whose dreams got crushed specifically because of this sues us, do you even know how much we should be paying him?"

"We could always have a rematch," Giovanni defended.

"Surprise is one of the key elements in Pokémon battles," Harvey argued. "People make specific strategies for specific rounds. Do you think the same person will win when you put a rematch between two trainers of similar battling levels?"

"This is preposterous!" Giovanni yelled. The paper in his hands was crumbled when he curled his fists.

"Mr. Giovanni," Scott spoke, "Calm down. Mr. McMillan's right. We can't ruin our own tournament. Not with an extra policy. Let alone an old one."

Giovanni couldn't hear anymore. More and more board members started to speak after that, each apologizing to him, saying it was a wonderful idea but a risky one nonetheless.

Everything was ruined. All his plans to take over the PLA legally were ruined. His promise to his son was ruined.

But this wasn't over yet. He had more than one plan in his arsenal. The first one was a major blow to him, but he still had many more plans left in his arsenal.

"Fine, I take back this proposal," he said at last. When he looked up, he saw Goodsho smiling at him like a little kid who just got his candy bar. '_Enjoy all you want. You'll definitely pay for every moment you torment me, old geezer.'_

* * *

**Indigo Region, Rosenburg Complex**

"Ritchie's just amazing isn't he?" Ash said as he and Gary walked out of the Indigo station.

Gary couldn't help but agree. Ritchie was well, resourceful, for someone their age. He was pretty calm during the whole time he orchestrated the rest of the journey.

They were both alone, once again. Cilan, who said he had a couple of suggestions to give the Subway masters, disappeared along with Ritchie who thought it's better to explain the situation to them.

"I hope Cilan doesn't forget about the Pokémon Checkup," Gary said, partially worried about the strange man. He was definitely an interesting character, but he could be embarrassing if people don't know what he's doing.

"Well," Ash said getting his spirits up. "Let's hurry up and go to our hotel rooms!"

At this, the raven-haired trained began to charge like a wild Tauros. The GPS indicated they were to head straight on the main road, take a right turn on the second street. They finally hit the complex of large buildings lined one after the other.

There were many trainers who were either moving in or taking a casual look around. There were a couple of cars, Gary noted. They were perhaps, renting them from somewhere nearby as cars form outside are disallowed in the main complex. He made a mental note to check the cars sometime.

Ash on the other hand was having his hands full figuring which of the building was their residence. He was furiously jabbing at the smart-device. "Jabbing it doesn't help you, Ash-boy," he couldn't help but say that.

Ash showed the screen to Gary, "I figured it out." Gary was mildly surprised. Well Ash took his time, but he figured how to use the device at last. "We get the hotel with the lake-view," Ash said checking the device. "The Rosenburg Grand, it says."

"Rosenburg Grand?" Gary knew that it was a chain of hotels owned by the Frontier Enterprises. "That's a pretty good one."

Gary examined the name on each board and stopped at the towering building in front of them. "Yep, this is it."

The building was indeed a grand structure that was about twenty-storied. They walked in, pushing the glass doors and inquired about their rooms at the reception. "Mr. Oak and Mr. Ketchum," the receptionist was a petite brunette. They sure pick the right gals, Gary chuckled. "You have booked room 7B, along with Mr. Harrison and Mr. Striation."

"Yep, that's us," Ash said cheerfully.

"Mr. Harrison has already checked in yesterday," she said, "He has left the extra keys with us just in case." She provided them with a key that had a card attached to it. "We hope you enjoy our services during your stay and good luck for the League." She added with a business smile.

"Thanks," Ash smiled back. "By the way, there were a couple of girls who registered with us. I was wondering if they checked in."

The receptionist checked the register. "Um," she said studying the list. "We have a Ms. Waterflower and Ms. Berlitz. They've signed in few minutes ago."

"Looks like Dawn and Misty have checked in," Gary said. Ash nodded, "Let's hurry up then."

* * *

After that we have taken the elevator to the seventh floor. The girls' room was locked. They could be somewhere outside.

Our room was one of the most luxurious I've seen throughout my league experience. There were six beds, each provided with their own desk and computers. Not to mention, there was a television, an air conditioner, and a videophone.

The digital clock on my table showed the time to be 13: 00 hours. We better hurry up, or else face the consequences of standing in an absurdly big line.

Luckily for us, the Pokémon Center which was as massive as the one from earlier was pretty close. The crowd was hectic, but a token system was followed much to our sanity.

"If we were a bit earlier," Gary complained, "We could've finished it by now."

Well, it was true that we could have come a bit earlier if I didn't waste my time battling Richard. But, "Not everything goes according to plan," I said, grinning sheepishly. "Besides we have a lot of time, right?"

We still had a solid eleven hours ahead of us. "I suppose," Gary said, slightly convinced.

As we continued to wait, a new batch of people walked out of the checkup room. Surprisingly, they were all familiar faces.

"Hey guys," I waved to the large group. Most of them recognized me immediately. While most of them were pleasant reactions judging by their smiles, some of them weren't.

"Long time no see," the tallest of them, Harrison pulled me in a surprising hug. "Whoa man," he grinned studying me. "You've grown but you look the same."

"Except he looks more confident," Tyson smirked.

"And handsome," Norman added. "Isn't that right, May?"

The brunette was taken by her father's sudden comment. "Dad!" Her face turned pink in embarrassment.

The bespectacled boy adjusted his spectacles as he studied me intensely. He was certainly a lot taller than three years ago. "Yep, a lot more handsome for May."

Well, it seems they were having fun. There were more in the group. The green-haired Drew silently smirked at me. He brushed his hair when our gazes met. It was his style of greeting, I guess. The purple haired Harley however pretended that he didn't know me and simply studied something else.

"I'm surprised all of you are together," I said. Well Tyson and the rest of them were acquaintances, but Harrison was a different case.

"Well we all took the same plane from Hoenn," Max said. "I suppose you should've figured the connection out." He said, giving me a cocky grin.

So, even Max wants to put up a cold war against me? I guess that's what you should expect from a tournament of this level. "Max, I'm looking forward to see your progress."

Max said confidently, "Obviously. I've made the best strategy to beat you, Ash."

"That's interesting," I smiled, he sure seems confident. "So, have you guys finished your checkup process?"

"It was a pain," Norman said, "But I guess we did complete it without a hassle." His attention then shifted to Gary, "I heard from my daughter. I hope she wasn't a big burden to your wallet."

"Dad!" May was furiously mad. Wow, they were indeed a strange pair of father and daughter.

"I was just kidding, pumpkin," Norman said, obviously enjoying it.

"Well," Gary chuckled. "She definitely wasn't a burden. We had a good time."

"You need not lie you know," Max said, adjusting his glasses again. Seriously, does he keep doing that?

"MAX!" The Pokémon center exploded with the screams of a certain brunette. Boy, they were sure a lively bunch. I wish my Dad and Mom were here too. As much as I hate his ridiculous remarks, my Dad knows how to keep things lively.

I wonder what they were doing now. Probably watching some articles related to the world tournament in the television.

I was so deep in thought about my Mom and Dad that I didn't realize I was staring at May while I did so.

"Look, Ash's spacing out on you!" Max said, pulling a last minute defense against a smack from his sister.

Well that startled both of us. We ended up staring at each other awkwardly. When she realized the inherent meaning behind his words, she ended up blushing.

* * *

Gary rolled his eyes. One year has certainly matured Ash a bit. While he's still hopeless, he at least understands now when people were make romantic implications in front of him. He was worse one year ago.

"I was just thinking about my Dad," he defended himself, much to the brunette's sanity. Although Gary had to accept, May had grown in the right areas in the one year course. She was transforming slowly into a woman that would attract men.

Gary constantly critiqued the woman around him silently in his mind. While he eyed most of them, he didn't go far with anyone. He basically liked to keep his options open. Even if he was the polar opposite of Ash women-wise, both of them were equally detached from a romantic relationship.

"I think it's better if we leave," the green haired Drew looked impatient. This guy obviously disliked the way things were going on here.

"Yeah," Gary said, "I heard there're a couple of shopping malls in the main stadium region."

"Shopping malls?" May's eyes were suddenly lit up. "I suppose we should be going there, then?"

Both Norman and Max groaned at the same time. The brunette pulled her father and sibling, "Well, in that case we'll meet you guys later."

"Yeah," Ash said, "Let's gather at the main stadium before the opening ceremony."

"Sure thing, man!" Tyson exclaimed before the group left.

* * *

Two hours after the Hoenn Crew left, our turn finally came. There were a total of twenty five doctors in this center. So, there were enough doctors to complete the checkup really fast.

We were ushered into the room by a Blissey. The checkup room was in fact a huge hall, bigger than a Pokémon stadium itself. There were about twenty five equally huge tents. A Blissey or an Audino stood outside each one of them and showed the trainers into the tent. The purpose of the tent was to maintain the secrecy of the trainer's Pokémon. That way one could hide the Pokémon he possessed.

"Number 21," A Nurse Joy showed Gary to the last room. "Number 22," she showed me to the next tent.

As I approached the tent, I realized the ceiling was much higher, perhaps to accommodate enormous Pokémon like Steelix.

"Well Pikachu," I said to the rodent. "Let's hope you don't shock the doctor." I walked in through as the Blissey lifted the cloth for me.

I entered, expecting some strange guy wearing a white coat, or a Nurse Joy carrying a smile. Instead, I met with a familiar squint-eyed guy.

We stared at each other silently in surprise. "Whoa," those were the first words that came through Brock's mouth.

To be honest, I was more startled than ever. In that lab coat he seemed like a completely different person. His hair was longer than the usual. He wore an orange shirt under his coat and green cargo pants to match up with that.

"Brock," I shook my head in disbelief. "Never thought I'd see you here of all places."

"Well," he shrugged, "Where else would you see a Doctor in training?"

"I don't know," I chuckled. "You look a lot cooler in that."

"Speak for yourselves," Brock laughed. "Are you planning to swoop all the young maidens n Rosenburg?"

Well he obviously knows the answer to that. As much as Brock was controlled by hormones, I was oblivious to them.

Brock sat behind a small desk that had a computer, a pen stand, a couple of papers and a printer. He had a couple of medical equipment in hand too. "So," I asked taking the other seat that was obviously meant for me. "How do we do this?"

"You let me worry about that," Brock said, "Just write the list of Pokémon you want to be entering here," he showed me a sheet that had fifty boxes. "I will validate them in your Pokédex to see if you really have them and then contact your storage."

"You mean Oak?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said as he typed something into his computer. "I've already sent a request call. The P.L.A official will call him on your behalf and request a mass transfer. Then I'll cross-verify the ID in the Pokédex and check your Pokémon."

That actually sounded a lot complex although Brock spoke as if it were something simple. "Well, I guess I'll just sit and watch the physical examination?"

"You need to complete the list first," he pointed to the empty sheet of paper. "You can cross check with your Pokédex and see if you missed anyone out."

"There's no need for that." I could remember that much. Alright, so what were my Pokémon's names again? After a while, I completed the list without checking the Pokédex.

I'm glad I remembered all of them.

"The list looks pretty heavy," Brock said as he read the names. "How did you evolve Haunter?" He asked.

"Sabrina took his ownership temporarily," I said. She thought I wouldn't return back for Haunter. "So he evolved when I traded him with that Ralts I had to catch for her." Oh, that was a pain. They keep teleporting, don't they?

"Sabrina huh," Brock remembered the name with a certain dread. Well she did turn them into dolls. "So 37 Pokémon. Your list is the same size as Paul's."

'_Paul?!'_

"He was here?" I asked, eagerness taking over me. "When?"

"A few rounds earlier," Brock said, "Although, unlike you almost all of his Pokémon were fully evolved. In fact most people have fully evolved Pokémon."

"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Bayleef, Quilava and Corphish," I counted, "Those are the only ones. I didn't want to force them to evolve."

"I think that's better than evolving against their wishes," Brock said as he sorted the list through my Pokédex. Well it wasn't necessary. Brock knew most of my Pokémon. But a formality is a formality. "Even Paul has an unevolved Pokémon."

"Really?" Now that was quite a surprise. "Which Pokémon was that?"

"It's strictly confidential," Brock said, "Sorry, Ash but it's in the agreement. If I just reveal then it'd destroy the point of putting all these tents," he said pointing to the enormous curtains around.

"I understand." Moreover, isn't it fun discovering the hard way?

Once he finished the list, Brock sent a mail to Oak's ranch. A request call was made. Few minutes later a Blissey came in, pushing a tray filled with Pokéball. I recognized they were mine, thanks to Feraligatr's Pokéball.

The checkup didn't take much time. Brock scanned each Pokémon with a strange device and noted something in his computer every time.

"And done," he said once he was done with Krookodile, the last Pokémon I caught.

"So, did all of them pass?" I asked. It was a moot question, why would any of my Pokémon fail.

"With flying colors," Brock said finally taking rest after continuous examination and typing. "Seriously, this work is tiring." He said wiping the sweat off his face.

"Seems so," I agreed. Poor Brock, he had many more trainers to handle after I leave. "So, should I be returning these to Oak's?"

"No," Brock said, "You get to keep six. The rest will stay in the League ranch. Don't worry I'll be the ones in charge of your Pokémon."

"That's a life-saver." Seriously, anyone would be paranoid if they were to leave their Pokémon under some stranger's care. But if it's Brock, there's nothing to worry at all. Like Dawn says, no need to worry. "I'm counting on you, Brock."

"It's my training project," Brock smiled, "I will definitely not screw it up."

Well now that the checkup has been done, the last thing left for me to do was go to the main stadium and meet all of my friends.

* * *

**Meanwhile, in the Rosenburg's main stadium region also known as the 'Rose-Red' region…**

The shopping malls were hopelessly full. The escalators, elevators, stairs name them, each and every one of them was stuffed with people. If you were to visit this place, it's a better idea to put an eye on your wallet.

"Like I said, those people are going to break up anytime!" Iris argued over the heap of gifts she carried.

"Are you blind or what?" Misty retorted, "They were holding hands and touching each other. Why would they break up?"

Apparently, their discussion was about a random couple they spotted on their way out. Iris argued that they were about to break up anytime soon, while Misty maintained that they had a wonderful relationship going on.

"No need to worry!" The girls heard a distant voice somewhere. They looked around, as the source was quite familiar. Their eyes halted on a certain blunette, who stood attractive amongst the crowd.

"She sure knows how to dress," Misty muttered. Dawn was wearing a perfectly blue dress that matched her eyes and hair. She wore a white hat, decorated with a blue ribbon. Misty' dress consisted of a simple shirt over a short, which looked bland in comparison with Dawn. Iris was another story completely. Her dress obviously belongs with the tribal.

Walking alongside her was a red-haired girl similar to her, and yet another girl whom she identified from the list of important people as Candice of Snowpoint.

Following them closely were a group of men. One of them looked like he was high as he kept jumping all the way as he kept yapping in a purple-haired guy's ears who looked quite indifferent to it. There was a chubby brown haired guy behind them, followed by someone who looked like Max multiplied in creepiness and added with age. Walking alongside the strange group was a blue-haired guy and a tall black-haired guy that carried a harp for some odd reason.

"Dawn's friends?" Iris asked.

"Could be her stalkers," Misty muttered before the girls ended up into peals of laughter. The Max-like guy certainly looked like one.

"Messing with people's love-lives already?" Another familiar voice approached the duo from behind.

"May!" The girls exclaimed when they spotted a certain foxy lady standing behind them, her mouth stuffed with food and her hands carrying some more.

"What are you girls up to?" May asked, obviously expecting something mischievous.

"Watching Dawn and her st—" Iris paused when she saw a couple of guys follow May. She exchanged a glance with Misty.

The girls had a silent conversation. '_She has stalkers too.'_ Iris said with a simple cunning smile.

Misty who understood that couldn't help but giggle. May was obviously troubled by this, "I hope you aren't taking the wrong meaning out of this." She pointed to the man who was alongside Max, "My Dad's here. I don't want him to hear all that mischievous stuff."

"Spoilsport," Iris pouted, faking anger. "Well let's attack Dawn then!" The three girls decided picking on the youngest.

* * *

Dawn was having a nice time. Candice and Zoey were definitely wonderful company and protected her from creepy Conway and…poor Kenny.

She constantly looked back to Paul, who was having a hard time keeping up with Barry's irrational rants. "You're my best buddy, Paul!" Barry exclaimed. "I mean, we guys are destined to be bitter rivals and friends at the same time. I bet the both of us won't battle each other till the climatic finals. And then we will have the biggest showdown of them all and—"

Barry's words took her to the strange relation Paul and Ash had. Paul's attitude towards Ash was definitely good, but there was a fine gap between them. Paul couldn't obviously see a rival and a friend in the same person. No one in the world could, expect maybe Ash.

The blue-haired guy Vincent walked forward to meet with her. "You know if this guy Barry keeps blabbering in Paul's ears," he whispered. "I'm afraid Paul could snap anytime soon."

Vincent was Paul's first rival. She met him when Ash's Tauros battled Paul's Torterra. She remembered him having an enormous Venusaur. Something that would put May's Venusaur to shame.

"Well, yes," Zoey said. "I'm surprised he endured this long."

"Well you could say thanks to that guy's harp," Candice pointed to Nando who followed them closely. They all have taken the same plane from Sinnoh. Except for Vincent who was from Kanto. Vincent joined them later as he wanted to meet up with Paul. "That harp soothes your nerves right?" Candice asked.

"Don't tell me you're going to hit on Nando!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Of course I d—" Candice paused. "That's not a bad idea."

At that point Nando approached them. He played with the strings on his harp, "Is something wrong?" He asked, with a melodious voice.

"Nothing much," Candice replied, not failing to blush. "Just wondering which mall we should go next."

"Isn't there something more productive to do?" Apparently Paul who listened to what she said asked, somewhat begrudgingly. "I could've at least had a good sleep." He grumbled.

"Yeah, man!" Barry jumped. "I'm getting tired of all this shopping."

"Are you?" Dawn wondered. "Maybe we should do something else for a change." Much as she was annoyed by Barry, they really did a lot of shopping today. Coming from her, it was indeed a lot. "What would you guys suggest?" She asked the last two boys left in their group.

"Well there's something I want to do," Conway adjusted his glasses. "But we can't do it in public, can we?" He said with a cunning grin that was creepy. Forget it! Why did she ask that pervert in the first place?

"Sometimes I wonder if he has a death wish," Zoey whispered into Candice's ears. Yep, he did.

"I have an idea," a tired looking Kenny said. "Why don't we take a little rest somewhere?"

"Tired already?" Barry was somehow startled by this. "Oh, that's 'cos you're too chubby dude!" Barry started pulling Kenny's cheeks.

"Does anyone have a plan?" Paul asked, annoyed to be standing in such a crowded street in the first place.

"No need to worry!" Dawn exclaimed, planning to take the situation under her care. But at that time she didn't realize she caught the attention of three women from the nearby shopping mall.

"Dawn!" Three voices exclaimed at once. The blunette suddenly found herself immersed amidst the hugs of her three friends.

"Misty, Iris, May!" Dawn exclaimed, slapping her palm against each of theirs. "Where's Ash?" She asked, expecting the raven-haired as the three girls seemed to be together.

"Oh," May said with a foxy smile as Misty and Iris giggled. "You meet the three of us and the first thing you ask is about—"

"Shut up," Dawn said, mockingly as she blushed. "You girls are always like this."

"Always like what?" Zoey asked, with her own cunning smile. Oh, everyone hates her! Dawn thought.

"Zoey," May said as she hugged the redhead. At that point the male group following May joined them. "Never thought you'd be here." May knew about Zoey's distaste to Pokémon battles. The redhead shrugged at this.

"Hey May," the older man said, "Mind introducing us to your friends?"

The next five minutes were spent on introduction. May's brother showed a profound interest when he spoke with Paul. The latter was somewhat happy as he saved himself from Barry.

Harrison, Tyson and Vincent became immediate friends while Barry chose Norman and Nando as his next brain-eating target. Kenny and Conway continued to speak amongst themselves as they made private jokes on their favorite girl. Drew and Harvey remained detached from the group. Although, she knew the latter was only so because he preferred speaking with women than men.

"I think we should all go to the main stadium," May's dad announced. "Ash told he'll be there after his checkup."

At the mention of Ash's name, Dawn unconsciously looked at Paul to check his reaction. At the same time the rest of the girls threw their smiles at Dawn.

"I sense a love triangle," Iris giggled, which was echoed with the giggles of the rest of the females.

"You girls are nasty!"

**Over already? Yeah, sadly I have already reached a word count of 8275. So, I have to break this off as a chapter. Most of the crew is set to meet. But there are a couple of other people (mostly the Unova crew), once they join we are all set.**

**The opening ceremony will most likely be in the next chapter along with the league matchups.**

**Oh, and you guys certainly expected a lot to happen with Ash and Silver, right? Haha, just wait, we have a lot of time for him!**

**And uh, yeah poor Dawn! Being the youngest can be painful sometimes :x**

**A little spoiler: In the next chapter, Ash will do something that could get him disqualified :3**

**Oh and if you are wondering about my new OC, Harvey McMillan-well let's say he could be Ash's ticket to uncover few truths. That's the point of his existence.**


	12. A Battle Royale!

**Did I say quick yesterday? Sorry, _this_ is quick.**

**12. A Battle Royale!**

Welcome to RoseRed Region.

That was what the board read. So we were finally in the main stadium region where the opening ceremony would take place in seven hours. Yes, it was five in the evening.

The ceremony invitation said we need to be there by 9 PM. We still had four hours left.

"Gary," I asked my oldest rival who had accompanied me for the whole day. Who'd have thought the two of us would stick together. "Where should we be going?"

"The stadium obviously," Gary said, "I bet everyone would be gathering there by now."

I thought the shopping mall would be a better idea. The girls would be dragging everyone over there anyway. I have to assemble all my friends at one place. But still, the stadium made more sense because more people like Morrison and Ritchie would gather over there.

* * *

"We did it!" A sense of euphoria filled the young man. "Lucario, we are on a roll this time!"

The Pokémon grunted in response. Yes, indeed they were on a roll. For the first time in his life, Cameron had successfully done something correctly in his life. The excessive use of adverbs was only justified.

He completed the registration form in the entrance region. Check.

He took the T-Dex, Pokédex and didn't mix them up with his T.V remote. (His mom still yells at him because of that.) Check.

He went to the hotel room he booked. The bed was so amazing that he made a tent around it. Check.

He had all his Pokémon statuses verified. Check.

He was now standing in the Rose-Red region, waiting for the gates of the main stadium to open. Check.

Everything was just perfect.

"Lucario, we're going to win this tournament," he had the vibes that told him so. "The world championship is definitely ours!"

* * *

Giovanni's coffee went cold. He didn't know how long he had been holding it as he looked into the distant crowd that gathered into the stadium. Had things gone well, all of them would have been collecting at his outlets, searching for the Hold Items they wanted. Depending on the demand, he could have altered the price and be rich in no time.

"Damn you," he muttered as he remembered Harvey McMillan. Losing to the man wasn't much of a hindrance to his plans, but he had a certain other issue. His son.

His memory drifted back to one year ago, before he surrendered himself to the police in the media's presence.

* * *

**One year ago…**

"Sir, we have found the kid who sabotaged our cargo from West Johto," the Rocket grunted reported.

Giovanni opened his eyes. He had sleepless nights thanks to this brat. He definitely wouldn't send him back alive or so he thought.

When the splitting image of his wife was shoved in front of him, Giovanni couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. "Of all people," he muttered. "I didn't think it was you."

He motioned the guards that held the boy by his hair to release him. No one should touch that beautiful hair he inherited from his mother, Giovanni thought. "Why?" Giovanni asked.

"Why?" The boy looked at him with eyes that mirrored his father's. "Because I want to kill you!" The boy spoke unlike someone his age should.

"I see," Giovanni closed his eyes again. He removed a gun from his pocket and placed it on the desk. The Grunt who saw this looked astonished.

"Sir," the grunt moved for the gun but Giovanni's deadly glare sent him back.

"Silver," he said the boy's name aloud. "You wanted to kill me, didn't you? I am giving you the opportunity."

The boy looked at Giovanni, confused. "Take the gun," Giovanni insisted.

The boy hesitatingly took the gun and placed the aim on Giovanni. The boy's hands shivered as if he was drenched in ice cold water. The bullet inside never came out. A smile crept across Giovanni's face. "You didn't expect it to be so easy, didn't you?"

Silver's hold on the gun loosened. The object escaped his weak hold and made its way onto the soft carpet. The red-haired boy fell on the floor, reeling with hatred. "Do you know why you can't kill me?"

"I…" Silver couldn't say anything.

"Because your aim was to destroy, Giovanni, the man who controls people with fear and leads Team Rocket," Giovanni spoke. "But right now, I am in a pathetic state. Not worthy of your revenge. You want to destroy me, not kill me."

Silver stared at his father, astonished. "Before that," Giovanni said. "Why do you seek my death?"

"My Mom died because of you," he grit his teeth. "She died horribly, only because of _you_. But you didn't even care to look at her dead body."

"There was a manhunt on me," Giovanni frowned. "The police were all around her. Do you expect me to walk right into their trap?"

"She died for you!" Silver exclaimed. "The least you could do was visiting her grave."

The Rocket boss licked his lips. "Your hatred is justified. If you want to destroy me," Giovanni eyed his son. "Kill me when I am at my strongest. When I feel the most secured. That's when you really enjoy killing me."

"You and your pathetic goons," Silver laughed. "You won't even to get watch the sun again. You're going to die like a maggot in this underground tunnel. Not even a fly will mourn for you."

"Wrong," Giovanni smirked. "We'll make it to the echelons of history. We'll bring the entire world under our control. We'll be an organization that controls governments. We'll be a force that a common man would always fear, forever."

"These plans of yours," Silver laughed again. "I've seen them fail again and again. I'm sick of your lame attempts."

"Trust me, son." Giovanni said, "One year from now, you won't say the same thing."

* * *

**Presently…**

Giovanni wondered if he could be what he told his son he would become, a force that threatens everyone. Right now, he was the laughing stock of Goodsho and his merry friends. It won't stay so, forever. He had to change things.

"How did the meeting go?" The new presence beside him asked.

"Bad," Giovanni answered honestly.

"Look Dad," the boy Silver muttered. "I don't care what you do. You promised me you'll get stronger."

"I have tons of back-up plans," Giovanni muttered. "My people are all over this place. Jessie, James and Meowth will take care of the things I planned next."

"I hope so," Silver muttered. "Lately, a lot of trainers are snooping around your members. I don't think it's good for you."

"These so-called Pokémon trainers," Giovanni muttered. "They can't touch me."

No sooner did he say so, a man came running towards them. "Sir," he saluted. "I've just received a report from the central region."

Giovanni tensed. The grunt didn't sound like he was delivering good news.

"Our restaurant has been closed as it didn't meet the standard requirements. Jessie, James and Meowth have been thrown out of the League Complex."

* * *

"Have you found her yet?" The worried blond asked the psychic-type.

The Pokémon that had a soft lilac fur growled in disappointment. The orb on its head shone as it continued to scan the crowd.

"Just where did Bianca go?" Virgil asked himself. As much as he liked her, he was always worried about her ditzy nature that constantly put her in trouble.

"Esp!" The Pokémon growled him back to attention. It pointed him to an ice-cream stand, where a certain woman was having a hard time handling the seven cones in her hands. A smile spread across his lips. '_Just like always.'_

* * *

"Bonjour! New Tasting time s'il vous plaît!" The purple haired woman exclaimed. "My evaluation on all these people around tells me that—" she placed a hand on her chin as she looked around. "They all will lose!" She laughed hysterically.

"What's gotten into you?" The pink-haired woman Georgia asked, obviously troubled by her friend's actions.

"Don't you see it?" She looked around her with gleaming eyes. "Everyone here is going to lose."

"Eh?" Georgia couldn't fathom what Burgundy thought. Not that she wanted a piece of her stinking brain. She looked around, "Where could you be, Iris?" She smirked as she searched for the girl who promised to become a master of the dragons.

As the two women stood in the Rose-Red region, doing nothing, a girl who looked something like fourteen found her way towards them. "Excuse me, but where could I find the baseball outlets."

The girl had a short stature. She wore a yellow striped with black shirt, indicating that she was a fan of the Electabuzz Baseball Team.

Burgundy scanned the girl. "Hmm," the woman hummed.

Georgia realized they were going to be in trouble. Not a moment passes without Burgundy commenting on one thing or the other. "People still support the Electabuzz? They kinda suck, don't they?"

"What did you say?!" The girl had a mouth unlike her size. "One more wrong word and I will break your bones!"

"Typical fan," Burgundy muttered scornfully. "Well I can't improve everyone's tastes."

Georgia had a feeling that, with an attitude like Burgundy's they'll run into a big problem sooner or later.

"Alright, you said it!" The girl pulled her sleeve as she lunged at Burgundy.

"Now let's not go that far," Georgia didn't know why she was defending Burgundy of all people, but she did so anyway.

"Gah," Casey pursed her lips as she stepped back from the taller woman. As she turned around, her anger disappeared and her eyes suddenly shone with light. "Wow, isn't that Ash!" The girl exclaimed.

"Ash?" Burgundy and Georgia exchanged glances. A smirk developed on their faces. If Ash Ketchum was here, then so would—

"Iris," Georgia muttered.

"Cilan," Burgundy said. "Let's go!"

* * *

Morrison was troubled. He wasn't familiar being surrounded by too many people. "Man, I really hate this place. But they do seem to have a lot of hamburger stands." The fact somehow made him happy. He had promised Ash that they'd meet in the evening before the ceremony. When they met he was too busy arguing the restaurant manager about the hamburger. How could a Hoenn cuisine restaurant not have Hamburger? He couldn't fathom.

It was then did his eyes fell on a certain lad, who had a Pikachu on his shoulders. Morrison was excited. "Hey, Ash!"

The boy didn't respond as he continued to walk. But his Pikachu turned around and noticed the approaching guy.

He placed a hand on Ash's shoulders and jerked him back. "Ash!" He yelled in excitement as—

"Wait," he blinked. He looked at the guy who looked similar to Ash, but wasn't. "You're an impostor!" He accused. "You're not Ash."

The boy looked troubled. "Um," he said. "I'm not an impostor. My name's Ritchie."

"Huh," Morrison held his breath for a second. "So you're a complete different guy?"

"Yeah," Ritchie gave him a wry smile. "I'm searching for Ash too."

"Ah!" Morrison exclaimed. He pulled the boy close and hugged him. "Then we're buddies!"

* * *

**The PLA HQ**

"Oh Cynthia," Goodsho was elated when he saw the Sinnoh Champion. "You're really my Goddess of Victory."

Cynthia smiled at this, "I presume things went well." She gave Harvey a glance. There was a simple smile of victory on his face. The answer was a yes.

"Your man," Goodsho said, taking his seat. "He whopped Giovanni's ass."

"I'm glad for you, Goodsho."

The older man gave a bright smile at this. "I'm safe as long as I have well-wishers like you Cynthia."

"What exactly happened?" Cynthia asked Harvey.

"Just a minor logical exaggeration," Harvey shrugged. "He bailed out."

"You must have seen him Cynthia," the old man looked like he was about to cry in happiness. "I thought I was going to die that instant. He pulled through with a 0.03%!"

"Lemme guess," Cynthia said, "Probability is a bitch?"

Harvey chuckled at this, "Yeah, I used that." Cynthia chuckled in reply. The man hadn't changed much in seven years. But of course there were a few things about him that made him dangerous. She wanted to warn Goodsho first but she didn't as she feared he might decline the idea. She simply hoped Goodsho wouldn't make some stupid promises to Harvey.

"I'm indebted to you, Harvey," Goodsho said, adjusting himself on the chair. "I'm really thankful to you."

"I hope that's not your payment," Harvey said, a sly smile on his face.

Uh-oh, Cynthia thought.

"No!" Goodsho was obviously offended by that. "I'm going to pay you for the help you've done, Mr. McMillan. Name anything in my power and it's going to be yours."

That's what Cynthia feared. Harvey wasn't a bad guy, but he was extremely manipulative. And Goodsho perfectly walked into the trap.

"Are you sure?" Harvey asked, exchanging a glance with Cynthia who gave him a wary look.

"I am," Goodsho replied. "And I will stay true to my word."

"Fine then," Harvey said, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You said it."

"Anything Harvey," Goodsho said, "Of course as long as it's legal."

"Oh don't worry it's legal," Harvey said with a coy smile on his face. "I want me the director of the PWT organizing committee."

Even Cynthia's mind was blown into proportions when she heard his request. She looked at Goodsho who stared at Harvey with eyes that were so widened that they might as well pop out.

"I know," Harvey gave him a business smile. "You've been organizing tournaments all your life, and it's something you value. But I promise," he paused to let his words sink into the old man's numbed brain. "I'll make the tournament a bigger success than you expect. You needn't pay me any cash."

There was a pause for some time before Goodsho spoke. "Y-You just want to organize the tournament?" Goodsho asked, "You don't need any other real powers?"

"Goodsho you're considering this?" Cynthia wasn't opposed to the idea, but she didn't want Goodsho get manipulated so easily.

"Exactly," Harvey said. "That's all I need."

Goodsho nodded silently. "I'm getting old for whacking my brains anyway," he smiled. "It's a deal."

That was too easy Goodsho, Cynthia wanted to say.

"Deal," Harvey said extending an arm to shake hands with Goodsho. "We'll begin with the exhibition matches you planned for this evening."

"Alright," Goodsho shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"

"You've originally planned to collect the top ten favorites from Tier 7 participants and put them in five one-on-battles, right?"

"Yes," Goodsho replied.

"Change the plan," Harvey said. "We need only the top five favorites."

Cynthia was stunned by the idea Harvey gave next. Of course she had to agree with his idea.

* * *

"This is really a bad idea," Gary muttered as we stood before the Rose-Red stadium, jammed amidst thousands of people.

"Yeah," I could speak with utmost difficulty. There was hardly any air to breathe. The opening didn't start until four more hours and yet people are pushing each other as they waited for the gates to open. "Let's fall back."

Gary nodded, before we pushed hundreds of people to get back outside. "Good lord," I gasped as the fresh air filled my lungs. Never did I realize the importance of oxygen that much.

"Some crowd," Gary shook his head. The two of us were near the fountain that stood a good distance away from the crowd that went wild for the opening ceremony.

"It's the world tournament," I said more to myself than Gary. "I wonder how it'll be by nine."

"Do you think the others will be in there?" Gary asked.

"I doubt it," Ash muttered. "We have three gym leaders with Norman. I bet we can try some good seats without pushing like that."

"I guess," Gary said as he brushed his wet hair back. Beside us, stood an old-grey building that was being watched by a couple of security guards. It was the PLA administration office, I realized as I read the board. It was pretty close to the stadium.

A light flashed on my face. I looked at the source, surprised to find a camera on my face. The camera lowered down as my eyes met with a certain rival of mine. "Trip," I smirked as he did the same in reply.

"Ash," he smiled.

There was an uncomfortable silence between us. Neither of us didn't know what to speak. Well things were awkward between us. But Trip did turn a new leaf. "So, what's up?" I asked.

"Waiting for the gates to hell open," Trip said as he eyed the crowd behind him. "It's sure a lively place."

"Yeah," Gary joined the conversation. He shook hands with Trip. "Gary Oak."

"I know who you are," Trip smiled. Damn, Gary's popularity. "My name's Trip. From Unova."

"You're the guy who thinks Kanto people are hicks, eh?" Gary said, a smirk on his face.

"You might have changed that opinion," Trip said. Yeah, Gary did look like a perfect city-boy type. Wait, what does that say about me?

"So," I was about to ask Trip about his training when—

"Get out of my way!" The fervent screams of a hyper blond shook me to attention. I looked to my right, and found Barry charging towards me, unable to brake himself to a stop.

"Oh no," I muttered. I knew what would happen. I had enough of that gag already.

With a swift motion, thanks to an unbelievable reflex I jumped out of Barry's way as he ran past me and finally stopped before the fountain.

Phew!

"Out of the way!"

Or not.

I looked back, just in time as a woman carrying too many cones than she could fit in her hands smashed right into me.

"Whoa!" The impact pushed me onto Barry. My skull connected his with a loud thud. The two of us tripped over each other, and—

_Splash!_

I ended up crashing into the water behind, along with Barry. At that moment, the splash collected a lot of attention. In fact a lot more than I wanted to. That was when the trouble began.

* * *

Richard seethed with anger. He was always a calm, reserved type. But today…

His blood boiled when he remembered the incident again and again. That son-of-a-Growlithe! He actually dared to leave the battlefield in midst of their battle. Sure, he might have seen someone he knew, but that doesn't mean you leave your opponent and go catch a train while he's still standing in the battlefield, waiting for you!

He gnashed his teeth. Ash must have had a good laugh of him. He and Katie must have giggled like little girls after making a clown out of him. But he wouldn't tolerate this anymore. If he were to see that Ketchum kid again, he would make a dumpling out of him.

He was in the Rose-Red region, as it was obviously the destination for everyone who participated in the tournament. He didn't have to search for long…

_Splash!_

He looked in the direction where the noise came from. He instantly clenched his fists. "Ash Ketchum," he whispered the name with venomous intent.

He watched as a blonde woman, a beautiful blond woman to be exact lifted Ash up.

First Katie, and now this woman. Just how many woman will you play with? Richard thought.

"I'm going to destroy you!"

* * *

Silver was unhappy. His father's plan to put the hold items forward failed. Well he wasn't particularly disturbed by that because it didn't involve him. It was a minor setback to his father.

But Jessie, James and Meowth being thrown out…

There was only one person who could have possibly done that. The twerp who met him earlier that morning. What was his name again?

Ash Ketchum, he remembered. If he were to lay his hands on him again, he wouldn't walk away in one piece. Thinking so as Silver walked down the PLA administration building, a noise attracted his attention.

_Splash!_

When his eyed fell on the raven-haired trainer, he gritted his teeth. "You're good as dead," he muttered coldly before pacing down the stairs.

* * *

**A few minutes earlier…**

The Sinnoh-Hoenn group walked towards the stadium. Luckily for them, they were separated from the girls, Drew and Harvey who left them and went someplace else. Probably, a jewelry store. What was one doing here anyway?

"Man," Tyson sighed. "As much as he's annoying, we must thank Barry for dragging us away from the girls."

"Yeah," Harrison replied. "What's up with all that giggling anyway?" He was certain that the women were making disturbing jokes on each other. He was certainly uncomfortable with that kind of women.

"Well that's the new generation girls for you," Norman said, although he felt slightly bad that his daughter was one of those. "Men are getting weaker while women are getting stronger and stronger."

Harvey of course, looked indifferent to the gender-related conversation. Paul looked happy because Barry completely forgot about him and was now yapping about some rental cars he had seen. Apparently, they were renting some really good branded cars.

"Look, there's the stall!" Barry exclaimed when he saw a distant tent which showcased many cars. He immediately lunged for it like the madman he was. Little did he notice a certain raven-haired trainer who stood by the fountain.

In an amazing athletic move that made many of the men jealous, Ash dodged Barry. Unfortunately a she-Barry walked straight into him not a second later. The rest can be summarized with just one word.

_Splash!_

* * *

"Oh my god!" I rubbed my forehead which now carried a bump.

"I'm really sorry!" Bianca fervently apologized as she repeatedly bowed in her usual style.

"Could you get me out of the water for a change?" I asked, as she was engrossed in apologizing.

"Oh," she paused her bow. She caught her beret before she lent me an arm. "I'm really sorry." She said again.

I walked out, with clothes that were wetter than I liked. Man she really needs to stop bumping me into fountains every time we meet. Speaking of bumping—

I looked back. The crazy Barry stood up after me, rubbing the back of his head. Yeah, that was a strong hit. I felt a bump beneath my hair too.

Barry grumbled something as he looked back fiercely. "Hey, what's the meaning of this?" He jumped out of the water, "I'm going to fine you for this, Ash! You get to pay in ten seconds or—"

"Or what!" I snarled. I didn't know what was wrong with me. Maybe it was the frustration of walking all day from 5 AM. Maybe the amount of crowd around. Or maybe it was because the double bump screwed my brain. I didn't know, I simply snapped.

"Or…" Barry was startled by my reaction. He thought for a second. His eyes shone when a thought flashed in his brain. His hands moved onto his belt. "Or you'll have to face Empoleon!" He tossed the Pokéball.

The Pokéball exploded open as the Emperor Pokémon materialized with a battle cry. So, he wants to do it that way? Then I'll humiliate him with a thunderbolt!

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" I pointed my finger at Empoleon. The rodent jumped off my shoulders and immediately shot a lightning of electricity at Empoleon.

The penguin startled by my sudden move, didn't have the time to dodge. Instead it tried to block the move by placing its two hands in a defensive posture. The electricity zapped through the water type with ease.

To its credit, Empoleon was still standing, albeit on one leg and a knee. The attacked had its toll on it. That should silence Barry, or so I thought.

"Hey you attacked me without a warning," Barry pointed a finger at me accusingly. "I'm going to fine you."

"You're the one who sent your Pokémon without a warning!" I retorted, shutting the crazy blonde.

"Ash Ketchum!"

I jerked my head to the right and spotted a certain brown-haired lunging towards me, an enlarged Pokéball in his hand. "Infernape, Mach Punch!" He yelled tossing the Pokéball.

"Feraligatr, Hydropump!"

At the same time another person tossed a Pokéball.

'_Richard and Silver!'_

The two Pokéball materialized at the same time. From one end, Richard's Infernape lunged at Pikachu with a swift punch. While from the other side, Silver's Feraligatr propelled out a jet of water from within its enormous jaws.

The electric rodent looked in both directions, unable to decide whom to dodge.

"Just Jump!" I ordered the Pokémon. Trusting my judgment, the rodent used its tail as a spring and leaped into the air. The Hydropump ended up on Infernape's face dealing the fire-type a good damage.

"Why are you attacking me?!" Richard yelled at Silver.

"Is it my fault if your Pokémon is incompetent?" Silver gave a cold reply.

"What did you say?!" Richard glared at Silver.

"Hey, you don't attack Ash when I am battling him!" Barry demanded. "You guys are going to pay for that."

What the hell was going on?

* * *

"Hey look, it's Ash!" Morrison exclaimed, tearing Ritchie's eardrums apart. He swore silently. If he were to spend five more minutes with Morrison he'd have a hole in those sensitive eardrums of his. "Why is he battling three people at the same time?"

Ritchie looked in the direction Morrison pointed. And indeed, Ash was battling three people at the same time. "What's going on?" He wondered.

"It's a battle royale," a voice whispered in his ears. "He he he"

"What the!" Ritchie jumped at the sudden voice, except there was no one behind him.

"A battle royale!" Morrison exclaimed. "That's really cool!"

* * *

When the loud splash happened Cameron was near the stadium, trying his best to get inside and get the first seats. He watched the events in awe. Ash's Pikachu did an amazing job dodging either Pokémon's attacks at the same time. It was a simply brilliant move.

At the same time the word that was carried throughout the place reached his ears. "It's a battle royale." Someone said.

"A battle royale?" Cameron was stunned. He smacked his palm with his fist. "Damn it, I knew we'd miss something or the other. I never knew there was a battle royale event."

"It's open to all," a voice suddenly whispered into his ears. "He he he"

"Eh?" He looked back. There was no one else behind. But it didn't matter to him. "Alright!" He jumped in excitement.

* * *

The word spread through the crowd faster than heat through steel. It finally reached the battle scene itself.

Trip was confused. "A Battle Royale?" What happened before him didn't seem like a planned event. Besides getting into unofficial street brawls could be dangerous. Trainers get disqualified for that.

"It's an official event," a voice whispered into his ears. "He he he"

"An official event!" Trip was startled. Surprisingly there wasn't anyone standing behind him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tyson had gone around, inquiring about what was going on. He came back to the group with surprising news. "Hey guys," he called the attention of them. "I've found out the details. It's an official event, a battle royale that is open to all!"

"A Battle royale?!" Harrison exclaimed. "And Ash's taking part in it?"

"Do we go?" Vincent asked.

"Of course," Tyson jumped excitedly.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Paul said. "Something's off about it."

"C'mon man," Vincent patted his friend. "Why are you so paranoid? It's not like some random people are attacking Ash for revenge is it? He's an awesome guy. It's obviously an official event."

Paul looked at the battle scene uncomfortably. He then clutched onto his trainer belt. "Fine, let's go."

As they left Norman grumbled. "I shouldn't have listened to Caroline." He left all his Pokémon in the ranch.

As the group left, Kenny started to follow them too, eager to participate in the 'official' event. But Conway's firm hand stopped him. "What is it?" Kenny asked.

"Do you want to get disqualified?" Conway asked, adjusting his glasses.

"No," Kenny nodded. "It's an official event isn't it?"

"It could be a false rumor started by someone pretty intelligent," his spectacles shone as they reflected the sunlight. "He he he."

"Why would anyone do that?" Kenny asked, confused.

"Smart people don't do things because of the 'why'," Conway said. "They simply do because they can."

Kenny watched the Dawn-stalker grin deviously. Something was off about him, he realized. Then again he was a stalker.

* * *

"Hey, you don't attack Ash when I am battling him!" Barry demanded. "You guys are going to pay for that."

The two guys glared at Barry for that. The three then glared at me. "Infernape, burn them down with Flareblitz!" Richard commanded the fiery ape.

"Feraligatr," Silver ordered the blue alligator. "Slash that Pikachu!"

"Empoleon," Barry commanded at last, "Drill Peck!"

Wait, what the hell?! So, they were ganging upon me? Even if they weren't, that's what was happening now.

"Alright," I grumbled. "I'll show you what happens when you mess with the future Pokémon Master. Pikachu," I ordered the rodent. "Dodge Flareblitz and use Quick Attack on Feraligatr."

As the ape jumped onto Pikachu with a blazing aura surrounding it, the rodent swiftly zoomed past it with an unbelievable speed thanks to Quick Attack. Before the alligator could complete its slash, the rodent struck it square on the chest.

Meanwhile Empoleon that came after Pikachu missed it, as the rodent was thrown away by the impact of hitting Feraligatr. The penguin ended up attacking the alligator instead.

Well that did a—

"Swampert, Mudshot!"

Before I could even relax, a new Pokémon entered the fray. The mudfish Pokémon shot projectiles of mud at Pikachu.

"Jump, Pikachu!"

Why the hell was Morrison attacking me?

"Aqua Jet!"

From behind somewhere, a Samurott shot at my Pikachu. I looked at the source, and found Cameron delightfully smirking.

"Pikachu," I yelled. "Use Iron Tail to block the attack!"

Pikachu spun around and slammed the powerful tail on Samurott's face. The attack threw the Aqua Jet out of order, and the samurai Pokémon ended up crashing on the ground.

But that was when more and more Pokéball were tossed into the air for some reason I couldn't understand.

"Blaziken!"—Harrison.

"Sceptile!"—Tyson.

"Torterra!"—Paul.

"Venusaur!"—Vincent.

"Serperior!"—Trip.

"Zippo!"—Ritchie.

"Meganium!"—Casey.

At once the count of the participating Pokémon shot to ten plus. Why was everyone sending their Pokémon to battle?

"Alright, stop this!" I yelled. "Can anyone tell me—"

"Blaziken, Hi Jump Kick on Pikachu!"

Oh crap.

* * *

Virgil saw the commotion unfold. It started when his girlfriend, Bianca hurried towards him a ton of ice cream cones in her hands. She accidentally bumped into Ash.

And now it ended up with fourteen people who somehow started battling each other. "What the heck!" He could only wonder.

He ran towards Bianca who stared at the scene before her in extreme confusion as she worked her not-so-sharp brain into figuring out what exactly was happening around her.

"Virgil!" She said giving him one of the ice creams she held. "Take an ice cream!"

"Later, Bianca!" Virgil pushed the cone away. "Can you just tell me what's going on?"

"Are you trying to break up with me?!" She asked, her eyes turning moist.

"What?" He asked, befuddled. "No, no—I…" he massaged his forehead. "I'm just trying to figure out what's happening."

"Something's very wrong," the brown-haired guy whom he recognized as Gary Oak spoke. "Everyone's gone crazy. They're all trying to battle Ash."

"It's strange," Virgil scratched his hair.

"Esp, esp!" His Espeon growled his attention.

"What's wrong?" Virgil asked. The Espeon said something he vaguely understood. "You're sensing a Psychic signal?"

The Pokémon nodded. "Someone's using a Psychic type to create confusion," He scratched his chin. "Bianca could you—"

He found the woman in front of him missing. Instead, he found an Emboar amidst the congregation of other Pokémon.

"Emboar, use Hammer Arm!" He heard her command. Virgil caught his head. His girlfriend was a hopeless case.

"I'm going to help you out," Gary suggested.

"Alright," Virgil nodded. "Let's try finding out the culprit."

* * *

The battlefield was utter confusion. I don't know who was attacking who.

Blaziken performed a Hi Jump Kick on Pikachu, but as Pikachu dodged, Swampert took Pikachu as prey and prepared a Hammer Arm. Meanwhile Harrison's Blaziken miraculously protected itself from the recoil. But Casey's Meganium used it as a chance to use Vine Whip on the Pokémon.

Richard and Silver insisted on attacking Pikachu, along with Swampert making it a three on one. Paul had his hands full with Barry. But Barry left himself wide open to Tyson's Sceptile. Fortunately for Empoleon, Ritchie's Charizard attacked it from the sky. Barry of course didn't see Trip's Serperior which was ready to attack him anytime. He was the easiest target of all.

Meanwhile Vincent's Venusaur was having a hard time dealing with in a battle with a newly joined Bianca's Emboar.

Of all people, only Cameron stood silently. His Samurott was already up on its feet, so there was no reason for him to stay silent. He was observing the situation carefully. Cameron's scatter-brained, I am not sure if he could actually come up with a plan. But then there was a sudden smirk on his face when his gaze fell on Pikachu.

"He's planning something," I muttered. My attention shifted to Pikachu, who was having a hard time dodging Infernape's Mach Punch, Swampert's Hammer Arm and Feraligatr's Slash at the same time If it were one year ago, we'd have lost by now. Of course the result would the same even now, if I don't do anything.

Cameron's smirk, what could it mean? A thought flashed me. That's right, we were the biggest group of all, and all the Pokémon were deeply engrossed in catching Pikachu. If he could attack all of them at once…

A smirk went up my own face.

* * *

Meanwhile on Paul's side.

Paul wanted to plan something clever as there wouldn't be a bigger opportunity to use his brains. Unfortunately that was not possible when Barry the bonkers was locked on you.

"Drill Peck!"

Empoleon charged at the tortoise Pokémon with its favorite attack.

"Don't let it come closer," Paul commanded. "Giga Drain."

He wanted to use the same strategy he used against Ash's Tauros. He wanted to use Giga Drain and finish this once for all. It was a risky move if he failed to stop Empoleon. But it was worth it because Empoleon was heavily bruised and it wouldn't stay long. Torterra's three vines grabbed for the rotating Pokémon, but it was then Paul noticed something slick and fast move towards the Emperor Pokémon.

"Torterra forget it," he changed his orders. "Let Empoleon attack you."

The heavy shell Pokémon was surprised, but it could afford taking a hit with ease. It decided to go with the trainer's better judgment over its own instinct.

From the side lines, Trip commanded. "Serperior, Dragon Tail!"

Empoleon struck the tortoise with the super-effective flying type move. But the defending Pokémon took the attack pretty well. It in fact stopped the penguin in its tracks.

Just then—

The serpent attacked the unguarded penguin with the dragon type move. What happened next puzzled everyone.

* * *

"Zippo, Flamethrower!" Ritchie yelled.

"Sceptile, Detect!" Tyson said.

The green lizard's eyes turned blue when the flames approached it. With utmost grace, it dodged the attack as it passed by the Pokémon.

"One more time!" Ritchie said.

"Detect!" Tyson retorted. The scene repeated as the Charizard closed down onto the Sceptile.

"You can't use it forever," Ritchie smirked.

Tyson smirked back, "Jump!"

The fiery dragon was startled when the green lizard jumped onto it in a swift motion.

"Damn it!" Ritchie realized his folly. He tried to increase his chances to hit Sceptile by letting Zippo come closer to the ground. But the wood gecko used this opportunity to pounce on it.

"Thunder Punch," Tyson punched his fist into the air.

"Over turn and propel down!" Ritchie quickly retorted.

Charizard turned its back to the ground in an attempt to nail Sceptile to the ground. But the Pokémon surprisingly jumped, failing their attempts to do so.

Ritchie exclaimed, "Oh no!"

"Now!"

The powerful punch on the belly knocked Charizard to the ground, and the zapping electricity coursed through its body. Having done enough damage Sceptile jumped back to a safe distance as it was trained to do so.

"Zippo," Ritchie muttered the Pokémon's name worriedly. The Charizard got up not without difficulty. The battle was far from over though, Tyson thought.

"Serperior, use Dragon Tail!"

It was then their attention shifted to Serperior attacking Empoleon and what happened next startled both trainers.

* * *

It was all about timing, I realized.

Cameron needed a perfect moment to attack all of us at the same time. But of course since Cameron's plan relied on Pikachu, I can control the timing.

Pikachu was in a tight spot as the three Pokémon lunged at it for the umpteenth time. It had been dodging all the time during the assaults. But it's going to change now.

"Spin on the ground and use Iron Tail!"

The move was a surprise to everyone who attacked Pikachu. The rodent used its Iron tail and with its body as a base, like a flexible dancer, it started to spin about itself halting the three attacks at once.

Of course a tactic like that was foolish because the opponent could easily shift into a melee attack and finish Pikachu once for all. But it's not like I would give them a second chance. Now Cameron, do your thing!

"This is your chance," Cameron moved as I thought. "Hydrocanon on all of them at once!"

"Pikachu," not a moment later my command came out. "Use Quick Attack and get the hell away from there!"

Pikachu jumped onto its tail and performed a powerful Quick Attack to rocket itself between Infernape's legs. The rest of them could have done something to stop the rodent, except their attention shifted to a certain Samurott.

The Hydrocanon struck all three Pokémon at the same time and exploded. Infernape was knocked out on the spot, while Feraligatr was severely damaged. Swampert was the one who received the least impact, but the damage on it was pretty good.

Richard, Morrison and Silver were shocked by the sudden move. Of course the one who gave them the shock was more shocked, when—

"Use Volt Tackle on Samurott!"

Your plan was amazing, Cameron. But using a battlefield happens to be my specialty. Of course a battlefield includes other Pokémon too.

The electric rodent charged at the unguarded water-type with one of the strongest electric type moves. The battle was over in just in one hit. My opponents watched me in awe, finally giving me a moment to breathe.

Now moving on to the main issue—

"Just what the heck is going on?"

* * *

Harvey McMillan, Cynthia and Goodsho were watching the events unfold just outside their building through the windows of Goodsho's office.

"My, those kids have lost it," Goodsho looked as the prospective trainers invited themselves a ban. It was painful to see Ash Ketchum as one of them.

Of course Harvey was having a completely different line of thought. "The kid in the middle," Harvey pointed. "The guy wearing the red hat and commanding a Pikachu."

"He's Ash," Cynthia said, "What about him?"

"Nothing," he smiled. Harvey didn't miss the scene when Pikachu which was supposedly being targeted by three Pokémon, not only managed to escape them, but it even managed to finish the one who tried to take advantage of their situation. "He thinks on his feet, doesn't he?"

"Yes," Cynthia smiled. "You have a good eye."

So he was worthy of Cynthia's praise too. Very interesting.

* * *

When Pikachu attacked Samurott which caused the Pokémon to faint on spot, at the same time Serperior attacked Empoleon with a Dragon Tail.

Empoleon was immediately sucked into its Pokéball automatically, and without even Barry's knowledge another Pokéball of his popped out. A Roserade materialized in the Empoleon's place. Now something like that wasn't normally unusual as it was Dragon Tail's property to do so. But—

"Hey, hey you shouldn't come out like that," Barry complained to his Pokémon.

"It's an official event isn't it?" Paul asked Trip who looked equally aghast. In an official one-Pokémon only battle, Dragon Tail couldn't switch out the Pokémon on the field. It was a special feature included in the Pokédex's system.

"Just what the heck is going on?" Ash yelled at the same time. Paul looked at the raven-haired trainer like a ghost. Of course it wasn't an official event.

"We've been set up," Trip realized. No sooner did those words come out, the sirens of the police vehicle broke them apart.

The police car moved into the center and the green-haired woman, Officer Jenny jumped out of it. "All of you," The woman announced. "You are under arrest!"

* * *

**Meanwhile….**

While the guys department was in trouble, the rest of the girls, Drew and Harvey stopped before the Vile' Bloom' a flower-shop that attracted Drew's attention. While Drew was particularly interested in flowers, the rest of the girls tagged along and Harvey simply liked being with the girls as he considered himself she-male.

The word about the Battle Royale spread far, and had even managed to reach their ears. "A Battle Royale?"

"Oh my god," Misty said, "We're missing something great."

"Ash must be there too," Iris said, but not a second later she bit her own tongue. Luckily, the rest of the girls didn't notice. If it had been someone else, she'd have used the opportunity to tease them.

"If it's an official event," Candice said, "Shouldn't we gym leaders be informed about it already?"

"I think it's suspicious," May scratched her chin. "I think our guys might be in trouble."

"We got to go," Dawn said. The rest of the girls nodded wordlessly.

* * *

"You're all under arrest!" Officer Jenny's words sent a shiver down my spine. Yeah I did go overboard. I broke the rules. Oh god, does that mean I'm going to get disqualified?

I looked at the rest of them who looked equally terrified. By then, all battling have stopped. A deadly silence followed.

Only to be broken when—

"Hey guys," a new voice greeted us. Barry and Richard moved aside to let a burly man pass through. "I'm sorry I was late. But we've come to _rock_ in this battle royale!" He pumped his fists into the air.

Bad timing Stephan!

"Isn't that right, Sawk?" He yelled as the blue humanoid jumped out of nowhere and placed itself in midst of the battlefield we made.

"You are under arrest too," Officer Jenny said strapping a handcuff around his wrists.

"What?!" Stephan pulled his hands back defensively. "What's the meaning of this, Ash?" He looked at me, accusingly.

"Moron," Paul muttered.

"That's right inspector arrest them all," a female voice from somewhere back in the crowd yelled. "And even arrest that damn Cilan. He's the grandmaster—" The voice was muffled to silence. It sounded like Burgundy though.

The officer decided to ignore the strange voice. "And of course by extension of the rules," Jenny spoke with a strict voice. "You're all henceforth banned from the PWT."

"That's preposterous," Harrison exclaimed. "We were told it's an official event."

"Very funny," Jenny said, sarcastically. "Since when are street brawls considered official?"

"It's a battle royale," Vincent said. "It's not street brawl!"

"That's just a good term for it, mister," Officer Jenny frowned. "Now, get them into the van," she instructed the officers who have followed her in a jeep.

Everything's doomed. My aim to be a Pokémon Master was shattered even before the journey itself began. How could I let this happen to me? Dad, I'm sorry I let you down.

* * *

"I sense it from somewhere around here," Gary said as he examined Espeon's orb.

"Are you sure?" Virgil asked. They had no time. The police have already arrived. If they could somehow prove that what happened was someone else's fault, they could still save them.

"Yeah," Gary said. His experience as a researcher told him that Espeon's orb gives of a bluish light when it's surrounded by psychic energy. "Keep checking the signal for me," Gary told Virgil. The rescue ranger did as directed.

Meanwhile Gary walked towards Norman and Max who watched the scene tensely. "Mr. Maple," Gary addressed him. "Have you seen any psychic type around?"

"No," Norman shook his head. "I didn't see anything like that. What the hell's going on anyway?"

"Not sure," Gary said. "Someone used a psychic technique to create confusion around here. They all thought they were participating in an official battle royale."

"What the heck?" Norman was startled. "It wasn't official?"

"Have you guys seen any psychic type around here?" Max asked Conway and Kenny.

"A psychic type?" Conway adjusted his glasses. "If you're planning to catch one, it's impossible. You know Psychic types are good at _teleporting_." Conway stressed the last word for some reason.

"Ah," Virgil grunted. "The signal's gone, Gary!"

What the—! Gary looked at Conway suspiciously. '_No, I'm just being paranoid.' _He said to himself.

"Do you have any psychic types?" Gary asked Conway.

"None at the moment," the nerd answered calmly.

"Okay," Gary nodded. Where the heck did that Psychic type go then?

"I'll talk with the police," Norman said.

He walked towards the officer Jenny who supervised as one trainer after the other was being handcuffed. "Excuse me officer," Norman showed an ID of his. "I'm the gym leader of Petalburg. There seems to be a misunderstanding."

"You call this a misunderstanding?" She showed him the various damages the Pokémon's moves had done. The ground where Ritchie's Charizard use flamethrower was singed. The areas where Morrison's Swampert used Hammer Arm were broken. And there were more…

"They thought it was an official event," Norman said. "I know these people personally. They're not the kind to cause a ruckus."

"I'm sorry Mr. Maple," Jenny shook her head. "Something _this_ scale _can't_ be ignored. Please let me do my job."

Norman stepped back, defeated. He turned to Gary and lowered his head.

* * *

I closed my eyes as the inspector approached to handcuff me.

"I think you needn't go that far," an angelic voice spoke at that moment. Or perhaps, the situation I was in made me hallucinate it as an angelic voice, but I don't care. I opened my eyes, to face a familiar blond beauty.

Following her was Charles Goodsho and some other blond guy in a pretty suit. Man, I am glad that I know these people.

"The rules strictly say that those who indulge in battles outside nets are liable to criminal charges and are to be banned from the PWT," Officer Jenny said. "I understand you may have friends, Champion. But we can't bend the rules for you."

A collective groan came from all of us. Yeah, we all have to pay for our crimes…

"Well you can't arrest them," the blond guy in the good suit said.

"Who might you be?" The Officer asked, eyeing the man who was obviously stranger to her.

"Harvey McMillan," he took out a card from his pocket. "I'm the in charge of the planning committee of the PWT."

Goodsho gave the man a strange look for some reason. "When did you make yourself a card? We just made the deal." Goodsho for some reason looked surprised.

Harvey smiled at this, "When Cynthia asked me for help."

The old man looked as if the guy called Harvey was unbelievable while Cynthia did the same by shaking her head. Although she was smiling.

"Well anyway," Harvey cleared his throat, facing Jenny. "This is in fact an official event that was witnessed by the Champion herself."

"From your office room?" Jenny asked raising an eyebrow, obviously knowing that he was trying to cover up for us.

"It's a good vantage point," Harvey said casually, "You get to watch all of the participants without missing anything."

"I can't believe him," an exasperated Jenny looked at Cynthia.

"I'm afraid Harvey is correct," Cynthia said. "What happened now was official." The officer rolled her eyes at this.

"You may have to pull back your vehicles ma'am," Harvey said, looking at his watch. "It's 7PM. Two more hours till the opening ceremony starts. You don't want to clog the crowd."

Officer Jenny, although unhappy had to nod. "Let's go," she told the officers. In a few minutes, the police along with their vehicles were out of sight.

"Cynthia," I walked to the Champion along with the rest of the crew. "I'm glad you came. I'm sorry for what happened."

"Someone tricked us," Morrison said. "If I get my hands on him—!"

"Now now," Cynthia chuckled, "You needn't go that far. Just keep yourself away from trouble."

"By the way," Harvey spoke, "Your name is Ash Ketchum, isn't it?"

"Yes sir," I replied. I'm not sure who exactly this guy was, but he saved our skin today. "Thanks for all that."

"I prefer if people thank me with actions," Harvey smiled. "Ash Ketchum, Paul Veilstone and Tyson, could the three of you join me in a walk?"

The three of us exchanged glances at his strange request. "Y-Yeah," I said.

* * *

"Well that's settled," Virgil sighed in relief. "I was scared for a second."

He expected the brown-haired Gary to say something, but he remained silent, deep in thought.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

Gary looked at Virgil, but his thoughts were focused somewhere else. "No," he shook his head. For a second, Virgil noticed Gary glaring at Conway.

"I see," Virgil muttered.

* * *

"There they are!" Dawn pointed when they approached the group. When they heard the sirens, the women hurried on their way towards the commotion.

Misty pushed a burly man away, she didn't know his name. She looked around, expecting the raven-haired trainer somewhere.

Could it be? The thought sent a shudder down Misty's spine. "Did they arrest Ash?" She asked Ritchie, one of the people she knew.

"Oh my gosh," May overreacted. "They arrested Ash!"

"Oh no," Dawn looked aghast. "Why did they arrest, Ash?"

"Will the two of you be silent," Iris hissed before Misty could. '_Thanks Iris.'_ She thanked the woman silently. Iris nodded in acknowledgment.

"Nothing happened girls," Harrison came forward. "Cynthia took care of the situation."

Misty heaved a sigh in relief. "Where's Ash then?" She asked.

"Oh about that," Ritchie said, "Some League official took him because he wanted to talk with him. He'll join us later."

Misty couldn't help but feel bitter. Every time she wanted t_o _meet him, he keeps drifting away. Why couldn't he wait for her when he visited Cerulean? Why couldn't he wait _now_? He knew she was coming, right? He was the one who organized this so-called reunion with his friends, didn't he?

"It's strange isn't it," Norman said, "Ash's the one who suggested all of meet here. And now he's somewhere else."

She couldn't agree more.

"Yeah," Iris said gloomily. "Let's wait till he returns then. The show starts at 9PM doesn't it?"

"I think they're opening the gates already," Gary joined the conversation.

"Where've you been, Gary?" Harrison asked. "We were in some deep trouble."

"I was just helping Virgil take care of it," he pointed to the blonde who joined the group.

"Bianca," he asked, "What happened to the ice cream?"

"I…," the woman was blank. "I threw them away."

"Why don't we get some inside the stadium?" He added with a smile. The woman was obviously elated by this and ended up hugging him. The scene made everyone else blush.

* * *

"Look at them all lovey-dovey," Burgundy watched from afar. She gnashed their teeth, "They're going to break up pretty soon, don't they?"

Georgia and Casey looked at the woman strangely. "I see," Casey nodded. "Now I understand her problem." Georgia gave her a matter-of-factly nod.

"Well if it isn't Burgundy," a male voice greeted them. The purple haired woman looked back in surprise. Her eyes immediately drew in a frown and her lips became pursed.

"Humph," she turned away, ignoring him.

He looked in the direction the women looked and found Bianca and Virgil in a hug. "Hmm, the beautiful taste of romance," Cilan smiled. "Ah, it's so refreshing."

"What's so great about him anyway?" Burgundy murmured in Georgia's ears. "Mr. Know-it-all." She grumbled.

Georgia couldn't help but give an exasperated sigh.

* * *

"So," Gary said, turning from one person to the other. "All the friends that Ash met during his journey, huh." He noticed two of them leave, one of them was Richard and the other was a red-haired guy.

At that point Cilan joined the group, probably after a good day tasting trains, he added to himself. He brought three girls along with him. '_More girls eh,'_ Gary noticed one of them, the pink-haired was particularly good.

"If it isn't Miss Dragon Master," the said woman gave Iris a haughty smile.

"Well Miss Dragon Buster," Iris retorted. "Shut up your mouth. Gary's saying something."

"Now let's don't be so rude," Gary said brushing his hair. He wasn't a fan of catfights.

Noticing that the crowd's attention shifted to him completely. "Uh, Ash doesn't seem like he's coming," Gary said, checking his watch. "I think he'll join us later. So why don't we go on instead? We have four gym leaders with us. We can try some good seats if me move in quick enough."

"Of course," Morrison yelled. He placed a heavy arm around Ritchie. "We're all Ash's buddies. We're all buddies too, right?" Ritchie gave him an uncomfortable smile.

"Yeah," Stephan said putting his heavy arm on the other side of Ritchie, "Let's go then," either of them pulled Ritchie along with them.

"I sure don't wanna be him," Max said.

The rest of the group laughed as Ritchie wriggled between the hefty men.

* * *

**The Rose-Red Stadium…**

The group occupied the entire second row inside the main stadium. Vincent took the first seat. Much to her dislike, Burgundy was placed right next to Cilan. Gary took a nice seat between May and Georgia. It balanced things out for him.

Misty sat next to May, followed by Iris, Candice, Zoey and Dawn, who was right next to Conway, the latter kept throwing strange looks and grins at her. Beside him, Kenny was giving a sheepish smile. Beyond Kenny was Harvey , Drew (who was throwing glares at Gary as he sat beside a certain brunette), Harrison, a contrastingly short Casey right next to him, followed by Max and Norman.

Following them was the couple Virgil and Bianca (who now shared an ice cream), next to them was Trip followed by Cameron and bonkers Barry. In the corner was Ritchie, sandwiched between Morrison (who kept claiming they were best buddies) and Stephan (who agreed with Morrison and showed their affection by squishing Ritchie).

The Rose-Red stadium was a grand sight. It had a capacity to hold fifty thousand people. As the number of participants was more than forty thousand, the invite to the opening ceremony was given only to the participants and the PLA staff members.

The stadium was flicked with different colors of the neon light that gave the darkness a different glow. There was an excited chatter among the crowd who were mostly participants. It was perhaps the first time that the participants were forced to sit in the stands and the rest of the world could enjoy the show only through the television.

The neon lights disappeared, instead multiple white floodlights were turned on, illuminating the oval stadium.

A huge stage sat on the field, and was filled with eminent people like the Elite Four and the Champions of the five regions, Mr. Goodsho and of course one Mr. Harvey McMillan.

"That League guy is over there," Morrison yelled. "Where's Ash and Tyson?"

"They better hurry up," Drew muttered. "They're missing a grand scene."

The stage was connected to the stairs that led to the huge bowl on top of the stadium. It was where the league fire would be lit and left to burn continuously for the next few days the tournament progresses.

There were huge screens everywhere that were arranged to show the field from different angles. A copter hovered in the sky, as the video footage of the grand ceremony was taken from the top.

A tall blonde woman, walked to the center of the stage. The Champion of the Sinnoh Region, Cynthia wore a black sleeveless dress that had flower patterns all over. "To all those who have come this far," her voice resonated through the speakers. "The time has come. The prestigious PWT is about to begin in three more hours. But before we move on to the grand ceremony, the speeches and all other programs, we are going to treat all of you with something more exciting."

The crowd that went wild with Cynthia's arrival settled down. A silence followed the grand stadium. The crowd gasped as the stage on which Cynthia stood suddenly moved down while the battlefield split in two halves at the same time.

The crowd was utterly confused when the two halves of the stadium closed again, creating an empty battlefield.

"_A surprise to all those people over here."_ A familiar voice echoed through the speakers. "_It's me Freddy O'Martian!_ "

More quietness followed. It was amazing how around fifty thousand people could maintain such silence.

"_That's right my friends. Before we move onto the main ceremony, we are going to be treated with five exhibition matches. Now isn't that EXCITING?!"_

The crowd absolutely went berserk when the news came out. "Whoa, exhibition matches?" Stephan jumped in joy. "Nobody told me about that."

"Five of them?" Barry was more than excited. "This is amazing, dude!"

"_It was meant to be a surprise. A good surprise. And so friends, without further ado let us welcome the battlers of the first exhibition match of the Pokémon World Tournament, Rosenburg Cup!"_

Thunderous applause rang through the stadium right after.

"_We need more sound from the audience. This isn't just any match, it's the first match of the World Tournament!"_

Having been satisfied by the uproar that came after—

"_Alright, that's more like it. And now bringing on the first of the two people who will treat us to this feast of a battle!"_

A deadly silence engulfed them again. It was amazing how the sound went from super loud to silence, Misty thought. Such was mob mentality.

"_He's the three time winner of the Unova League. The man who made it to the top 8 of the last Champions League ten years ago and has been training in Rosenburg Island ever since. His Excadrill is known for defeating Cynthia's beastly Garchomp! Friends, I present to you the title favorite JASON VALENTINE!"_

The reaction that came after that caused May to close her ears. "He's really popular!" She screamed.

At that moment, a princely blond man walked into the battlefield, waving to the crowd around. He took a firm stance on his side of the battlefield as he waited the announcement of his opponent.

"Of course he is," Gary said, "I can't believe I didn't recognize the guy when we met in the Elite Battler's Conference. He was speaking with Ash and his Dad." He remembered how Jason Valentine saved Ash and Alex from some old man called Veteran Clarke.

"_And now coming to face the title favorite…" _The crowd settled down to let the commentary announce the second name. There was a brief silence. "_He has reached the top 16 in the first ever league he participated."_

"Wait," Dawn said. "That sounds…"

"_He had been placed top 8 in three league performances and reached his pinnacle at top 4 in the Sinnoh League two years ago."_

"No, no," Misty said, "It's just a coincidence."

"_He completed Scott's epic Battle Frontier."_

"No, not at all," Misty was hysterical. "It's just coincidence girls."

"_He has defeated Drake of the Orange Archipelago."_

"That's too familiar," May was holding her chest.

"_Here comes the trainer of the next generation. He isn't a title favorite, but he's picked as the blazing star of the tournament. Let me welcome you—"_

"It can't be!" Morrison already wrecked his chair. "Don't tell me!"

"_Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"_

**Woo hoo! Ash's first battle in Rose Red Stadium will be with the title favorite himself. He's the guy who was rumored to have defeated Cynthia's Garchomp with his Excadrill, a feat that not even Alder's Bouffalant could perform. **

**But if you think that's surprising, you will crack down when you see the matchups of the first round. All set in the next chapter!**

**Also, one must thank Harvey McMillan for this. Why did he choose Ash of all people when there were obviously trainers better than him statistically? What is Harvey's strategy to make the tournament a success now that he took the tournament's reins? **

**Next Chapter 13: A Terrifying Matchup!**

**Extra Personal Note: Analon, I owe you too many reviews and I am ashamed to not do so already. So, for today I shall compensate with a small advertisement.**

**Guys, if you like a Sinnoh Saga rewrite with Ash doing some cool stuff like using his reserves from the beginning, I recommend :Sinnoh Revamped, by Analon for you.**


	13. A Terrifying Matchup!

**Yesterday it rained reviews for me. I didn't even realize it did until I saw that my review count not only crossed hundred, but it rocketed to 121! Woo, yeah…:p**

**From this chapter, I'll set the rating to T because a few problematic words were used here and there. Just wanted to be on the safe side.**

**Special Note: The commentator's dialogues will be in italics and a double quote (" "). Since he's going to blabber throughout the match, I don't want to add dialogue tags every sentence. Just consider it as second narration. **

**13. A Terrifying Matchup**

"Ash Ketchum, Paul Veilstone and Tyson, could the three of you join me in a walk?"

Following Harvey McMillan's strange request, the three of us followed him, Cynthia and Goodsho in tow.

For some reason, the guy was giving me the creeps. Was he planning to do something with us? I looked at Paul, Tyson who had similar quizzical looks on their faces.

We took a large detour around the crowd that waited for the entrance of the Rose-Red stadium to open. "Um, where exactly are we going?" I asked because it was the right thing to do.

"Some place that'll blow your minds," Harvey said, not even taking a look back. Obviously not satisfied with the cryptic answer, I looked at Cynthia expectantly. The Champion was in her world of thoughts it seems.

"We are going into the stadium," Paul said, his face devoid of any expression.

Harvey looked at Paul, "Yes."

I didn't notice a staff-only entrance door into the stadium till then. It was guarded by a couple of police. After our recent dealings with the cops, somehow they all seemed all the more intimidating. I just wonder how those criminals feel.

Wow, was the only word I could muster when we entered the stadium lobby. The hallway was filled with photos of famous trainers on both sides. The collection of photos were called the 'Rosenburg's Pride'. A couple of shots from battles of past Champion's League finals were arranged in an array.

"You guys wait here," Harvey pointed the three of us to a room with a board that read 'Waiting Room #1'.

The room, to my surprise was well furnished for a waiting room. There were a couple of couches, a bed, a couple of lockers and a few other stuff.

As I examined the strange room, Tyson and Paul settled down on the couches. "Man, I am not sure what hell's going on," Tyson said. "But let's hope it's something good."

Paul simply nodded as he looked down. The floor was fitted with expensive tiles. This room reeked with luxury.

There was silence between us. Tyson did try to make a conversation, but the three of us were too confused and a bit scared as for what was going on.

"_I prefer if people thank me with actions."_

What the heck does that even mean? Well whatever it was, if Cynthia's involved it won't be something bad. It's just…I just had this strange feeling when I was around that guy. I couldn't just point out what it was.

My thoughts were disturbed when the doors were opened and two more people walked in.

These two faces were in fact too familiar for me. Either of them were men, who were a lot older than the three of us.

"I don't like waiting much," one of them said impatiently as he stepped inside. The other halted when he saw the three of us.

"Brandon?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

"And Palmer," Tyson blinked.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

The two men exchanged a glance and told us, "Not a clue."

* * *

Harvey was on the phone. "Yes, the five are ready," he spoke. "Now I want the tournament favorites." He paused for the person on the other side to finish. "Tell him it won't be a problem."

"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked as Harvey put the phone back into his pocket.

"The fourth one," Harvey sighed. "He thinks he can be an asshole because he's the champion's grandson."

Cynthia nodded. She did meet the fourth favorite, he was certainly _abrasive_. "You could always put the sixth? Or I could fill in his spot." She offered.

"It's not a problem," Harvey said, "I know how to deal with assholes."

"He's a good guy though," Cynthia smiled. "Now would you care to explain why you are putting Ash and his friends into this? Goodsho's original plan was to pit all ten favorites against each other."

"There's logic behind it," Harvey said. "You know, obviously in a tournament this big, we'll make sure the favorites don't battle early on. Now that means most battles will be no name trainer versus no name trainer."

"So—?" Cynthia asked.

"If I hype a couple of people," he smiled. "Like this Ash Ketchum guy, then that's good business for us. Besides people usually tend to take sides when a battle goes on."

Harvey walked up to the table that had a portrait of Cynthia and her Garchomp from ten years ago. He smiled at how much she changed since then. "When a weak man is pitted against a giant, people tend to antagonize the giant, expect the hero, the weak to do something even if they are inevitable to lose. Ash Ketchum, Paul, Tyson…I'm pretty sure they can do that much," he smirked.

"Wow," Cynthia didn't know what to say. "I never thought it that way. What about Brandon and Palmer?"

"A demonstration to show how good our favorites are," Harvey said, "Considering how Brandon and Palmer are known in their respective regions as 'impossible to defeat'."

"Yeah," Cynthia shook her head, smiling. "You never cease to amaze me."

"You too," he said with a coy smile. The woman blushed at this.

* * *

Our wait was over when the door opened for the second time and Harvey walked in. "Mr. McMillan what's going on?" I asked. I realized my question was moot when I saw _the_ Jason Valentine walk in, followed by a certain middle-aged man in a white over red Hakama.

'_Veteran Clarke.'_ I remembered his name bitterly as the incident in the Elite Battler's Conference still played in my mind. The bitterness was mutual; I realized when Clarke gave a disappointed look after his eyes fell on me.

Behind them was a surprise. "Wallace," I muttered as the water Pokémon master smiled at me in recognition. He was dressed in his usual white cape over sea-bluish shirt. And after him was Alder…

Wait.

He was a guy in his late teens, who _dressed_ like Alder, but wasn't. He had a garland of Pokéball hanging around his neck, an orange-reddish hair. He wore black-white tattered clothing. The guy had a haughty smile when he eyed everyone in the room on the same level as Misty would eye a Caterpie.

And behind him was…

My breath stopped when I saw the last person. He had a greyish blue hair, and wore a grey shirt underneath his red woolen cape. He had light green eyes, and a smile when he saw me.

"Tobias…" I muttered his name.

The five overwhelming people settled down on the couch before us. The guy who looked like Alder immediately took the apple on the glass table and devoured it like some kind of Pokémon.

"Sit down Ash," Harvey motioned me to take the spot beside Tyson. I did as directed.

Now this was really awkward. I am not sure what I was doing here. Tyson had an equally tensed look on his face. Paul was looking at me for some reason, perhaps studying my reactions.

Brandon had a frown on his face as he sat arms folded. Palmer oblivious to it was eating some biscuits he found on the table along with the other refreshments. Jason Valentine gave me a pleasant smile, perhaps an attempt to make me feel at ease, but it did the opposite because right next to him Veteran Clarke was glaring at me. Tobias simply closed his eyes.

"Alright," Harvey said. "Most of you might have figured out by now as for why you're here."

"No," I said instantaneously and realized I was the only one who did so. The rest of them gave me a strange look.

"Pika," the rodent moved closer to my head on my shoulder. Even he was tensed.

"I'll explain anyway," Harvey said. "This time, we have planned five exhibition matches."

I looked around and counted the number of people in the room. Excluding Harvey it was ten. My heart skipped a beat.

"This kid is taking part in this so-called exhibition match too?" Veteran Clarke pointed at me.

"Yes, you have a problem?" Harvey asked.

Clarke shook his head with a no. "Just wondering," he scoffed.

Luckily for him, my mind was still reeling from shock.

"Anyway," Harvey said. "We have two groups of people over here. These five," he pointed to the new arrivals. "Have been voted by various people as the top five contenders of this tournament. Excluding official Elite Four and Champions of course. We won't touch the league members people till tier 2."

He didn't bother to say gym leaders. I guess they don't have much hope on them.

"The five of you," he pointed at us, "Have been picked by me as the blazing stars of this tournament."

"Blazing…stars?" I blinked.

"Yes," Harvey smiled. "The kind that tries their best to win the tournament."

"…And fail in the process," Paul added, startling everyone in the room at the same time. He snorted, "Just like a star before it dies."

Ever since he came to this room there was something off about Paul. He looked grumpy on a daily basis, but now he was extra-grumpy. What's going in your mind, Paul?

"Fits well," Clarke smirked, looking at me. That old man…

Surprisingly Brandon and Palmer were silent. It was as if they were intimidated by Clarke too.

"I don't mean to offend anyone," Harvey said, "You make your own interpretations. So moving on…" he pointed one finger at me and the other at Jason Valentine. "Ash and Top Favorite, match one."

"What?" My brain went numb.

Harvey ignored me and proceeded with his matchups. "Clarke and Tyson."

"It's Veteran Clarke," the old man glared at Harvey.

"Sure thing," Harvey muttered, obviously ignoring the old man. "Next up is Paul and Wallace." Wallace gave Paul his trademark smile, but Paul simply looked away, obviously unhappy. "Brandon and Benga." He said pointing to the Pyramid master and the Alder-like guy. So his name's Benga huh? "And lastly, Tobias versus Palmer."

Tobias and Palmer exchanged a glance before they nodded.

"You have fifteen minutes while we set the stage," Harvey said. "Ash and Jason, I want you to get ready at the respective entrances in five minutes and…" he paused, wondering if he forgot anything. "Ash, we need to talk," he signaled me to come as he hurriedly left the room.

Alright, boss! I wanted to try my hand at sarcasm, but I wasn't good at it. I looked at Jason, the news that I'll be battling him was still shocking to me. And worse, Harvey wasn't even giving me the time to get shocked.

"Please bear with me, Ash" Jason bowed slightly when we exchanged glances.

"Likewise," I bowed back. I then headed to the main door, wondering why Harvey called me.

He was waiting outside the door, tapping his foot impatiently. When he saw me he wrapped his hand around my shoulder and pulled me a good distance from the room. "I want you to use Pikachu," he whispered in my ears.

I gave him a strange look. If my memory serves well, Dad told me that Jason's famous for having an enormous Excadrill that was supposed to have taken down Cynthia's Garchomp. Using Pikachu was like putting your head in an Entei's mouth.

"But that's…" I began to protest.

"Trust me," Harvey said, "People will like it."

People will…what?

I looked puzzled as the man disappeared into the hallway, with of course one question in my mind.

What the hell's going on?

* * *

**After Cynthia's brief introduction in the opening ceremony…**

As the stage containing the Champions, Elite Four, Board of Directors, and Harvey lowered down, the blonde Champion approached Harvey.

"What was their reaction when you told them?" Cynthia asked, referring to Ash and his friends.

"I didn't give them much time to react," Harvey smiled. "I put Ash first."

"Against Jason?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "You do know how strong Jason is."

"That's the point," Harvey said. "The Excadrill of the top favorite and the Pikachu of a medium-level trainer. If your theory on Ash is correct, he's gonna give us a lot of spark before going down."

"I'm not comfortable with the way you think," Cynthia frowned.

"Did I say you are beautiful?" Harvey asked, abruptly.

Cynthia looked at him defiantly, "You know it's gonna take more than that." She knew it was Harvey's way to divert the conversation.

"Look," Harvey sighed. "What's more important is that we give people entertainment. It's not like Ash's going to lose the whole tournament for this."

"It could break his morale," Cynthia argued.

"Then he isn't worthy enough to win," Harvey retorted. Cynthia shook her head, knowing it was impossible to argue with Harvey.

* * *

There were lots of people all over me. A woman with a short brown hair examined me top to bottom. "Is this your hairstyle?"

"Yeah," I said, looking myself in the hand mirror I was provided. Jeez, I am not a girl.

The distant howl of the crowds caught my attention.

I was at the end of the tunnel that led into the stadium, the place where I am going to be battling in a few minutes.

Another woman approached and studied me. "He looks fine." She said to the brown-haired woman who put too much talc on my face. "You need to look photogenic," she said.

The cameraman Billy, as I heard, was adjusting something. "All set, I guess." He said. He looked at me and gave me a smile. "Nervous?" He asked.

"Sorta," I gave him a fake smile.

"_JASON VALENTINE!" _The commentator's announcement reached my ears. Following it was the kind of uproar I have never ever experienced before. It was as if the whole world was crashing in on me.

"Lot of people eh," I muttered, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Fifty thousand," the brown-haired woman smiled. "You need to thank us for presenting you in a good condition." I gave her a smile of gratitude at that.

I heard hurried footsteps. "Is he ready?" Harvey came into the scene. He perhaps ran from the other end of the stadium because he was out of breath.

"_He has reached the top 16 in the first ever league he participated."_

He looked at me, critically. "No," he abruptly removed my cap and brushed my hair violently despite the woman's protest. "He's known for uncombed hair," Harvey winked at her before putting my hat back on.

"_He had been placed top 8 in three league performances and reached his pinnacle at top 4 in the Sinnoh League two years ago."_

He patted me, "You know the drill? Billy's camera will be on you the second you step outside. Don't look back or into any other camera, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

"_He completed Scott's epic Battle Frontier."_

I clenched my fists. The time has come. I am about take part in the first match in the Rose-Red stadium. I should feel proud.

"_He has defeated Drake of the Orange Archipelago."_

"Alright," Harvey said. "Remember what I said?"

"Use Pikachu?" I asked. "Yeah."

"Good," Harvey smiled one last time. "Now hop on young man. Do your best."

"_Here comes the trainer of the next generation. He isn't a title favorite, but he's picked as the blazing star of the tournament. Let me welcome you—"_

It's my cue.

* * *

**Meanwhile in Pallet Town, a couple of minutes ago…**

"An exhibition match!" Delia was excited. "Do we get to see, Ash?"

Alex laughed at his wife's naivety. "Listen honey," he chuckled as he sipped on the juice. "This is the exhibition match of the PWT. Only top favorites and the champions get to battle. Even Gym Leaders are considered a joke. If you want to see Ash, search in the crowd." He pointed to the excited crowd the television showed.

"_Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"_

At that moment, Alex couldn't help but spit out the juice he was drinking.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

Had you ever felt the experience of thousands of people watching you, and screaming wildly? I experienced it quite a number of times. In Kanto, in Johto, in Hoenn, in Sinnoh and even in Unova.

But this…fifty thousand people….and the whole world from behind their television sets. Yeah, the feeling was overwhelming.

I looked around scanning the entire crowd. My attention fell on a certain group that was shouting my name. "My friends," I muttered.

"Pikapi," Pikachu seemed to have noticed the same.

"Jason! Jason!"

Most of the crowd were fans of Jason, it seems. Not that any of that mattered. Once the battle starts, it's me versus him. My past league experiences made it easy for me to adapt with the crowd.

I looked at the princely man on the other side. Everything was graceful about him. The way he stood, the way he posed, the way he looked at me.

Just when I was getting used to the rumbling of the crowd, the sound died of all of a sudden.

A man wearing a green shirt and a grey short walked in and stood on the platform that was arranged for the referees. He held a red and a green flag in his hand. So that was why the crowd went silent.

"Th exhibition match between Jason Valentine from Rosenburg City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town is about to begin," the referee's voice echoed in through the speakers that were arranged throughout the stadium. "Each trainer uses one Pokémon each. There's no substitution allowed. The battle ends when a Pokémon faints. In an event of double knockout, it's considered a draw. Is this clear?"

"Yes," Jason answered, confidently. "Referee."

"Yeah," I said pumping my fists.

"Alright," the Referee said. "Jason will be the first to pick as per the seeding rules. Let the battle begin!"

"_Jason Valentine is about to send his Pokémon. I know most of you know what will be coming out of that ball!"_

The crowd took it as a cue to go wild.

"Excadrill!"

"Excadrill!"

"Excadrill!"

The crowd was yelling Jason's icon Pokémon's name. "It's going to come out, Pikachu," I told the rodent. "The Pokémon that defeated Cynthia's Garchomp. The Pokémon you are about to battle."

"Pika," Pikachu's body tensed.

Jason enlarged the Pokéball he took out from his belt. He gave it a kiss before tossing the ball into the field. "Shake the earth, Excadrill!"

The Pokéball exploded and the Pokémon materialized. Except what came out made me skip a heartbeat.

* * *

"EXCA!"

The powerful roar from the Pokémon turned the entire stadium silent. Those who watched the scene looked at the Pokémon on the same scale as one would look at a terrifying monster. Most of them watched with open jaws, and eyes that were wide open in shock. Many forms of the phrase 'What the fuck?' were heard.

Because what stood before them was a Pokémon that belonged to a species with an average height of 2'04'', and yet it was easily more than twice the same size.

In fact, the Excadrill was almost as tall as its trainer. A good 5'9''.

"T-That's not an Excadrill!" Iris exclaimed, as she clutched her seat tight. May took her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Excadrill, the Subterranean Pokémon and the evolved form of Drilbur. Forming a drill with its steel claws and head, it can bore through a steel plate, no matter how thick it is."

"But…" Iris was struck speechless. "It's nothing like my Excadrill."

"If Ash's going to send Pikachu against this one," Cilan said. "Ah, that's bad taste."

"Knowing him," Misty muttered. "There's no guarantee."

* * *

The Pokémon before me, it's a monster. It's not an Excadrill. Normally an Excadrill's body consisted of a bulky frame with claws, and a horn made up of steel. This Excadrill, it seems to be the same but…

The claws that was supposedly made up of metal, not only encompassed the lower part of its hands, but it also extended up to its shoulders. The metal part on its horn extended, and covered its entire rear portion, forming a powerful armor around it. I noticed the last part from the large screen in front of me.

"Pika!" Pikachu gasped.

"I know Pikachu," I grit my teeth. '_Can I beat a monster like this?'_

"I can't have doubts like this," I murmured to myself. I took a deep breath as I remembered the training I had undergone. "We will win, Pikachu." A new determination filled my eyes.

"_Now, what Pokémon will Ash send to face this monster? Will it be his favorite Pikachu or a Pokémon with a type advantage?"_

I would like to take option two but Harvey…

What the heck? I can't keep hesitating like this. Whatever my Pokémon is, regardless of type advantage I will give my all!

"Alright," I turned my hat around, giving my favorite pose. "I choose you Pi—"

And then something weird happened.

Before the word Pikachu came out of my mouth, the second Pokéball on my belt suddenly tugged itself open and without any knowledge of mine, a flash of light shot past me.

A five foot tall beast materialized in front of my eyes and gave a powerful roar.

"Samurott!"

* * *

What happened was a strange puzzle to each and every one who watched the battle. Except for Iris and Cilan who exchanged awkward glances.

"_What an amazing way to send his Pokémon! Ash Ketchum didn't even have to touch his Pokéball! This is indeed a magic! Hats off to this young trainer."_

"That's no magic," Iris gave an exasperated sigh. "That Oshawott had always been a pain in the ass."

The rest of the crowd of course didn't know that.

* * *

The stunt Samurott pulled was applauded by everyone. It was not something I could take credit for…

Speaking of which…

"Oi, Samurott!" I yelled at my Pokémon. "Do you even realize where you are?"

The Pokémon paused for a second when he looked at the fifty thousand people going crazy around him with jaws that were wide open. He turned back, obviously surprised and ran towards me.

I guess it can't be helped.

"_It seems Ketchum and Samurott are having a strategic talk!"_

Strategic talk? "Look Samurott," I frowned. "Our opponent is one of the strongest Pokémon in the world. You won't back down, would you?" I pointed my finger at the enormous Excadrill.

Samurott knew it when a Pokémon was strong. In fact, with the strong battle aura the mole carried, anyone can tell it's a strong and worthy opponent to face.

"Are you done?" The referee asked.

"Yeah," I said, giving Samurott a smile of encouragement. The Pokémon grunted before turning back.

* * *

"I told him to send Pikachu," Harvey looked pissed.

"Maybe it was an accident," Cynthia said.

"Come on," Harvey cajoled her, "It's not like the Samurott came out on its own."

You never know, Cynthia wanted to say.

"_What move shall Ash Ketchum use first? It's time for the exciting battle to begin!"_

* * *

**[Music: watch?v=eg4SCkPhyLU] **

Amidst the rhythmic cries of the crowd. I made my first move...

"Alright," I pumped my fist into the air. "Samurott, Razor Shell!"

The sea lion Pokémon jumped at the enormous Excadrill, as it extracted the scalchops attached to its arms. The scalchops shone with a bright blue light as Samurott prepared to slice the opposing Pokémon.

So, how will the world's top favorite trainer react to this? I smirked as I mused.

"Guard," was the simple answer.

As Samurott brought the scalchop on its right hand down in a swift, powerful motion, the monstrous Excadrill simply curled its upper half of the body.

A sharp screeching sound hit my ears when the Scalchop grazed over the shell, leaving the Pokémon underneath unharmed.

"_Samurott strikes with a powerful Razor Shell, but Excadrill remains unharmed thanks to its perfect defense! The supereffective move failed to do the damage!"_

So it completely blocked the attack from touching its body? Then what the hell of a difference does it make if it's supereffective or not?

But it's not like I'm going to give up with one shot. Using a defensive move against me was a big mistake in the first place.

"Keep using Razor Shell!"

Taking my command as cue, Samurott slashed Excadrill with its left hand, the attack didn't have much impact but, Samurott performed the attack yet again.

"_Ketchum commands the same attack again. Does he intend to break Jason's defense with repeated attacks?"_

"Hold your ground," Jason commanded. "Perseverance is victory."

Against me it's suicide.

"Samurott, don't hold back!" I exclaimed.

The Pokémon roared as it performed the swift slashing motion again. More of the attacks came.

There's nothing like a perfect defense. As Samurott's blows rained on Excadrill's metallic hide like the blows of a powerful hammer, the defending Pokémon slowly stepped back.

"_Ketchum's strategy is working! The melee attack has its toll on Excadrill! Will Ketchum be able to land the first direct hit?"_

Its defense is going down. You better do your counterattack Jason!

Samurott's final Razor Shell was a vertical slash that completely put Excadrill out of balance. But as Samurott tried to hit Excadrill with its second shell, Excadrill took a quick step back, leaving its guard completely. The game's mine.

"Jump back and block!"

"Aqua Jet!"

Samurott shrouded itself in water as Excadrill jumped back in defense and struck the mole while it was still airborne, except the mole had already protected itself with its metallic armor before Samurott struck it.

Excadrill landed safely on its legs, while still maintaining the defensive posture.

"_What an amazing move! Jason, once again protects his ground type from a powerful supereffective move!"_

What the hell happened?

There was something wrong with the order in which our commands came out.

He said…Jump back and block….and _then_ I said Aqua Jet….

What the heck! It should have been the opposite. I should have commanded Aqua Jet first and then he should have blocked the attack. Does that mean my move has been predicted?

"That's a dangerous combo Ash," Jason had a smile on his face. "Albeit, it's a common strategy."

"_Ketchum's plan to corner Jason with a continuous barrage of offensive moves has failed. Now what will this young trainer do to beat Excadrill's defense?"_

If I keep attacking Excadrill at some point or the other his defense should break down and he'll be forced to attack back. That's when I'll use Aqua Jet to strike him.

If it doesn't work once, we have to try it again.

"Samurott, Razor Shell!"

* * *

"Wow, that's some intense attacking that Samurott's doing," May muttered.

Samurott moved like an expert swordsman, hitting one shot after the other, pushing the opponent back inch by inch.

"Clearly there are no flaws in its attack combinations," Misty criticized. She was quite familiar with the species as it was a water-type.

"Actually," Georgia said. "It takes some nerve to be calm against such an attacking force."

"That's true," Cilan agreed. "I've seen Ash battle a lot of times. He keeps pushing offensive combinations on the opponent and lures them into attack by putting his own defense wide open."

"And when that happens," Gary said. "The two Pokémon end up in a close ranged combat. With Ash's quick thinking he always ends up winnings those close-ranged fights."

"That's exactly what happened to Nando in the Sinnoh League," Dawn said, understanding what they just spoke.

"If that's true," Cilan said, rubbing his chin. "Ash might be facing his worst enemy. Because Jason's known for one thing: Patience."

"Perseverance is victory," Gary muttered as he fiddled with his Trainer Dex. "That's his motto. It's even written on his website."

* * *

"_Friends we are watching the second round of what happens to be a display of Samurott's amazing attacking power and Excadrill's defense. You certainly don't want to be on the bad side of that Samurott."_

Wham!

The first blow was a vertical slash.

Wham! Wham!

Then a simultaneous thrust from both sides.

Every tactic Dad taught me was playing in my mind. I tried scanning Excadrill's body for weaknesses. The only part not covered by the metallic part was the small part near its legs. But even that's impossible to hit because the mole's legs are way smaller for us to reach without hitting the metallic shell that covered its belly.

Then an idea struck me.

"Samurott keep attacking the same spot!"

Understanding my command, Samurott smirked and began thrusting the Razor Shell again.

"Good," Jason smirked. "Excadrill dance a bit."

Dance?

It took a moment to realize what Excadrill was doing. Instead of standing still and take my attacks, it began moving its feet.

"_Friends, it seems Excadrill is in mood for some waltzing!"_

"I hope your Samurott has brought a marker," Jason smirked. "Because you definitely can't hit the same spot now."

Damn him!

Why does he keep blocking my attacks? Why doesn't he do something?! It's so frustrating!

Or maybe that could be his plan…to frustrate me…

Well in that case, I should stop my attacking. I wonder what would happen if either of us don't attack.

"Samurott, step back!"

The sea lion Pokémon halted its offensive barrage and took a quick step back, resting itself on its four legs.

"_Ketchum makes an unusual move! What could his intentions be?!"_

But that's when Jason did something unexpected. "No time for rest, Ash! X-Scissor!"

"_Jason finally shifts to offense!"_

That's what I wanted too!

Before Samurott could even take a proper breath in relief, Excadrill removed its defense. The metallic claws of the Pokémon shone with a purple energy. The Pokémon lunged at Samurott, its claws joined into an X-shape.

"Samurott," I commanded. "Dodge and use Aqua Jet!"

The water-type moved away from the heavy Pokémon in time, and shrouded itself in a stream of water.

"Sidestep and block!" Jason's command came not a second later.

As the jet struck the mole, the Pokémon quickly resumed its former defensive stance.

Not the stupid blocking again!

That's it! He's going down now!

"Samurott! Put as much power as you can, Razor Shell!"

The Pokémon, sharing my frustration gave a beastly roar.

Wham!

The attack was powerful enough to break Excadrill's defensive formation in just one blow.

"_Excadrill's defense has been broken!"_

"Now!" I yelled. But Samurott's second Razor Shell didn't come immediately.

The Pokémon was heaving for breath. It looked back at me and then gritted its teeth as Excadrill resumed the defensive posture without the trainer's command.

"My bad," I sighed. Using another Razor Shell after a powerful one was too much.

* * *

"For a second I thought that Excadrill was a goner," Stephan muttered in disappointment.

"It's far from gone," Ritchie analyzed. "Jason's trying to run Ash's patience out. That Excadrill is too well trained in defense. Judging by how slow it moves, it's attack power must be quite good too."

"Trained in Attack and Defense huh," Morrison clenched his fists. "Yeah, that seems to be a correct analysis."

* * *

So, none of my tricks work. He's waiting for me to lose my patience. I can't give up yet.

I found more than one way to break Excadrill's defense. But the real issue was that the Pokémon knows immediately to put its guard back up.

When I tried a melee attack the first time, its defense broke, but Jason predicted my next move, Aqua Jet and told his Pokémon to block in advance. Yes, if there's a way I could win, it's by trying that again. Except I must change the timing a bit. To do that, I need to figure when Excadrill will lose its defense before Jason does. Luckily observing was a quality I possessed.

But before that I need to boost my Pokémon's morale up.

"Samurott," I called the Pokémon. "I believe in your power. No defense will be able to hold you back forever. Is that right?"

The Pokémon nodded in agreement. Ever since he was an Oshawott, Samurott had confidence issues. Although in certain situations, he touches the opposite extreme and be overconfident. Quite an erratic guy I must say.

"Now attack with all your might. Time for more Razor Shells!"

"_Ketchum is going with the same move again, but he seems confident."_

The Razor Shell versus absolute defense began once more. The first three slashes were all from different directions to confuse the mole. The fourth was a horizontal one. The fifth an inclined double slash.

.As my Pokémon's attacks continued, my focus completely shifted to Excadrill. The attacks were powerful to nudge it inch by inch, but nothing more. But soon the scenario changed. One of Excadrill's feet wobbled. It's coming close. But that won't be enough. I need it to time it perfectly.

And finally the moment of truth arrived when Excadrill's left leg buckled.

"Aqua Jet!"

"Jump Back and Block!"

The mole jumped back, just as the water shrouded Samurott. The scenario was a repeat of what happened. But there was a difference.

My command came first.

The Aqua Jet struck Excadrill square on its chest. The Pokémon managed to prevent a crash, but it was sent sliding away.

"Finally, we did it!" I pumped my fists.

Samurott landed on its four legs, there wasn't much distance away from Excadrill.

"_At last, Ash manages to land a hit on Jason! Could this be the moment where the tide of the battle changes?!"_

"You broke my defense. Awesome," Jason smirked. "But I have already brought you to the point I wanted you to be."

"What?"

The look in his eyes changed suddenly. "Excadrill, Drill Run!"

Damn it, he's shifting to the offense _now!_ The X-Scissor earlier was just a bland move to give me some hope.

The mole quickly curled itself into a sharp drilling unit and lunged at Samurott.

That's bad! My Pokémon's too close to dodge it!

"Samurott," I yelled. "Use your scalchops to protect yourselves!"

As the drilling machine called Excadrill ran into Samurott, the Pokémon placed its scalchops in a defensive move to save itself.

The defense only proved to be paper thin before the immense attack power Excadrill carried. The attack struck Samurott straight on the chest.

The sea lion screamed in pain as the attack took it sliding away for a good distance. Two simultaneous clangs were heard at the same time.

It was bad news to me.

Samurott lost its scalchops!

* * *

"Oh crap!" Misty rose from her seat when the two scalchops flew away from Samurott's hands and landed on the ground, far away from the Pokémon's reach.

"_Uh oh! Samurott seems to have lost its weapons of choice!"_

The sea lion Pokémon struggled to get up. It looked at its hands, surprised to see them empty.

"He's doomed," Burgundy laughed nastily. "I told him to replace all his Pokémon way back."

Misty glared at the purple haired woman. "Oh no," Dawn exclaimed, shifting the redhead's attention back to the field.

"X-Scissor!" She heard Jason's distant voice command the attack.

Before Samurott could even properly stand, the mole crossed its claws onto the water type, finishing the slashing move.

* * *

Before Samurott or I had time to react, the second attack came on the water-type, this time doing more damage than I liked.

The water type crashed down as Excadrill jumped past it. It cringed in pain because of the repeated sharp attacks.

"Again," Jason said as his Excadrill jumped back to face Samurott again. "Drill Run!"

"_Here comes the third attack of the combo, Drill Run!"_

"This match is far from over," I clenched my fists. Excadrill began the dangerous move once more, this time to finish it once for all. But there was a move we still had in our arsenal. "Samurott, Revenge!"

The struggling water-type gritted its teeth as it focused the energy inside its body. At once, a powerful orange field of aura surged out through the Pokémon. There was nothing Excadrill could do to stop that.

The powerful fighting move stopped the Drill Run instantly, and pushed the attacking Pokémon back. The mole landed on the ground with the heavy noise of metal as it groaned in pain.

"This is it," I said with a touch of finality in my voice. "Aqua Jet!"

Samurott lunged at the defenseless ground type that attempted to stand back and struck with the speedy move Aqua Jet. The mole trudged the ground with its feet, while Samurott did the same having successfully completed its move.

"Your guard is wide open!" Jason said. There was almost zero distance between the two Pokémon now. "X-Scissor!"

It's true that Samurott doesn't have its scalchops anymore, and it was in no position to dodge or have the time to use Aqua Jet but—

"Counter it with Megahorn!"

As Excadrill thrust the X-shaped attack, Samurott its horn as an aid for defense. The bug type moves clashed.

"_Samurott protects itself with its Megahorn! An excellent way to defend itself. Ash Ketchum has proved that he's really something."_

"Fall back," Jason ordered. As Samurott was only defending, there was nothing we could have done to stop.

Jason's too cautious. One more second, and I would have ordered Samurott to reinforce Megahorn with Aqua Jet. The situation could have been different.

The two Pokémon now stood a good distance away from each other. Either of us didn't move as either Pokémon needed rest.

"Ash," Jason said. "It's clear that you can't win without Razor Shell. You need your scalchops."

It's true. Aqua Jet or Megahorn can't be used to break Excadrill's defense. Revenge won't have much effect if I don't get attacked first which I can't afford at this point. The scalchops were pretty close to Samurott. In fact two leaps away. We were in a better position than a while ago. But of course, going for a Scalchop means letting Excadrill attack me.

Of course, Jason could think like that. But a Razor shell can hopefully stop a Drill Run. It's a matter of who moves first.

"Samurott get your scalchop!"

"Wrong move," Jason smirked. With a victorious tone in his voice he said, "Rock Slide!"

Things just went bad to worse for me.

As Samurott jumped for the scalchop to its left, giant rocks formed on top of the Pokémon.

"Samurott, fall back!"

The command came too late. The rocks rained down on the water type and sealed the Pokémon underneath their heavy weight.

"Samurott!"

"_Samurott has been covered by the rocks. Could it be the end of this amazing battle?"_

The cheers from the crowd rose up as the name 'Jason' and 'Excadrill' was chanted repeatedly. They all think, the battle's over?

"This battle isn't over, is it?" Jason asked me.

He knows it. I smirked, "Samurott, use Aqua Jet!"

The crowd went dumb again when the rocks began to move. At once, a powerful jet of water erupted out, blasting the rocks away in the process. The Pokémon inside let out a battle cry as if to confirm that it was still able to battle.

But the Pokémon's shoulders drooped. Its breaths were getting heavier. Samurott has reached its limit. Even I know that. It's time for it to activate its ability.

No sooner did I think so, a bluish aura surrounded the Pokémon.

"_Here it is! Samurott's special ability Torrent! Could this be a glimmer of hope for Ash Ketchum?"_

I am not sure about Jason, but the next few moves will be the last ones for Samurott. I have to finish this battle once for all.

"Samurott," I asked the Pokémon. "Are you ready?"

The Pokémon confirmed it with a nod. We don't have the other Razor Shell. We don't have the time to take it either. But one was more than enough with torrent to back us up.

"Razor Shell!"

With determined eyes, the sea lion Pokémon lunged at the mole for one last time to finish the game with its next move.

As Samurott approached Excadrill, the scalchop transformed into a blue energy sword that grew larger with torrent's boost. The Pokémon was almost close to striking the mole with a move that would've definitely done a great deal of damage. But then Jason made an unexpected move.

"Dig!"

The Razor Shell slashed through thin air as Excadrill dug its way into the ground.

"Damn it!"

Samurott looked around uncomfortably. He was in no position to take a dig now and dodging one's difficult. I have to think something. If the dig hits, we're goners. Something real quick!

"Attack!" Jason yelled.

That's right.

"Samurott, use Aqua Jet to propel yourself into the air!"

The ground beneath Samurott cracked and two dangerous claws came to strike the sea lion, but the Pokémon wasn't where the mole expected it to be. Instead, it was high up in the air, moving like a rocket with a watery trail.

"Ha!" Jason definitely enjoyed the tense moment.

The moment of truth has come. "This is do or die. Samurott spin and use full power Aqua Jet!"

The Pokémon that throttled its way above the ground turned around and now faced the ground. There was no way Jason can dodge that! Defending against it was a foolish move too. Torrent's power wasn't to be underestimated. He had only one choice to finish Samurott, and that was by attacking head on with Drill Run. Then it'd be a matter of attack power.

"Excadrill," Jason spread his arms to the sky. "Drill Run!" There was no amount of hesitation. His move came immediately.

The Pokémon inside the shroud of water started spinning about itself, consequently causing the layer of water outside to twist along with it. With torrent to boost that power, the Pokémon turned into a swirling tornado. Like a comet, the tornado shot for the ground to strike the enormous drill machine that shot into the sky.

The attacks struck each other in a clash of powers that happened too quickly to be comprehended by human eyes.

But the result was certainly clear as one of the Pokémon crashed down on the ground.

The rotating attack stopped as the Pokémon landed safely on its two feet. The standing Pokémon then gave a menacing roar of victory.

The referee raised the green flag. "Samurott is unable to battle, Excadrill wins. The winner of the match is Jason Valentine!"

That Excadrill's attack power…it was unreal. It managed to overpower my Samurott's tornado Aqua Jet. At that moment I realized the true horror behind the Pokémon that was rumored to have defeated Cynthia's Garchomp.

Yeah, with a power like that. I'd be surprised if it didn't.

I closed my eyes as the crowd cheered the victor on. What was this strange feeling? Even though I lost, somewhere I am happy.

I am glad it turned out this way.

Yeah, I was proud. The strongest Pokémon of the top favorite. We were close to defeating them.

"That's right," I smirked. "I have gotten stronger."

* * *

Cynthia watched silently as Ash moved forward to shake hands with Jason Valentine. There was a proud smile on his face. It wasn't arrogance, it was pride. Pride that he was close to defeating the title favorite.

"So what do you think?" Harvey asked.

"He's a lot better than I thought," Cynthia said. "He's proud of himself. Self-confidence is an amazing weapon, Harvey."

"No one knows it better than me," he said. "Should we tell him the truth then?"

"About what?" Cynthia asked.

"That kid doesn't know why Jason's Excadrill is really feared," Harvey said. "Speed is the only reason Ash had an advantage over Jason. And we all know Jason runs a Sandstorm team."

"He'll find it soon enough," Cynthia said. "Why don't you let him enjoy his day till then? He needs the extra motivation for the tournament."

"You know what?" Harvey said. "You're kind _and_ beautiful."

"Try being less obvious," the woman said, as she walked away.

Harvey simply smiled as he watched the woman disappear into the hallway. "Well, Ash Ketchum seems to be in good mood." He said to himself. "May as well use the opportunity to drop the big bomb."

* * *

As I walked back into the stadium's interior, Tyson was standing there, waiting for his battle that was up next.

"Tyson," I said with a bright smile. "How did I do?" I asked the Hoennian trainer.

"Uh," Tyson looked at me uncomfortably. "I was too nervous. I didn't watch your battle."

"Hey, that's not a problem," I smiled back. For some reason I was in a very good mood. With a seemingly stupid grin on my face as I walked in.

I met up with Harvey, halfway across the waiting room. "Mr. Harvey!" I waved from afar.

"You're in high spirits," the man in the suit carried his own smile.

Of course I am. I came close to defeating the Excadrill that beat Cynthia's Garchomp. Not a feat your everyday Joe can pull.

"Then I guess it's perfect time to talk about this," Harvey said.

Talk about what?

Guessing the question in my mind, Harvey answered, "About your Dad and Pokérus."

* * *

"_This evening couldn't get any more exciting. The second match between Veteran Clarke and Tyson will be Flygon versus Sceptile!"_

In the grand Rose-Red stadium, the dragon which looked like an oversized bug and the green lizard Pokémon faced off.

Tyson was the first to move. "Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"

The green Lizard charged at the dragon type as the leaves on its hands shaped into powerful blades.

"Flygon," the veteran trainer was more than ready. "Dodge."

The dragon Pokémon flew away from the slashing attack with ease and quickly distanced itself from Tyson's Pokémon.

"Now," Clarke barked. "Flamethrower!"

Flygon opened its mouth to let out a jet of flames out of its mouth. The flames spread as they prepared to consume the target that stood underneath, Sceptile.

"Detect!" Tyson commanded.

Sceptile's eyes shone with a blue light. With an extraordinary reflex, the Pokémon jumped away from the path of the fire type move. The flames singed the ground, leaving a black char in its wake.

"Flamethrower," Clarke repeated the command.

Flygon craned its neck forward and shot another flamethrower after adjusting its aim to the moving target.

"Detect!"

But the foolproof move used to escape danger let Sceptile easily dodge the attack despite its high attack range. Sceptile leaped forward to dodge the flames, thereby reducing the distance between it and the Flygon.

'_I see a pattern in his moves.'_ The Veteran Clarke's critical eyes didn't miss Tyson's tactic.

"Now, Sceptile," Tyson commanded, "Dragon Pulse!"

Sceptile joined its two hands and moved them slightly apart as a green sphere formed between them; the Pokémon then shot the sphere at the airborne target.

"Dodge," Clarke's command came well in advance.

Flygon fluttered its wings and performed a circle in the air, dodging the attacking at the same time. It was a beautiful movement that only bug-type Pokémon possessed. Even if it wasn't a bug type, the dragon type possessed the characteristics of one.

"_Incredible. Despite Tyson's quick shift between offense and defense, Clarke manages to hold his ground. One can expect nothing less from one of the top five favorites of the tournament!"_

Tyson smirked, "The battle's just beginning."

The Veteran trainer folded his arms. "I have studied the pattern in your Pokémon's moves."

Tyson raised an eyebrow at this. The old man smiled, "Hit and run tactic, isn't it?"

* * *

"P-Pokérus?" My voice shook. How the hell does Harvey know about it? Only a few privileged people in Rosenburg know about it. Even Goodsho doesn't know much about it. More than that, how did he know I was Alexander Ketchum's son? "Did Cynthia tell you about it?" I asked.

"No," Harvey said. "We are close, but she still keeps silent about it. I had done my own homework."

"My Dad's innocent," I said. "But the rest of the world doesn't believe it."

Because of that I can't even tell people who my Dad was. It's simply disgusting.

"I know," Harvey said, much to my surprise. There were very few people who actually believed that. "Why don't we talk about it in the other waiting room?" He pointed to Waiting Room #2, which was obviously empty.

I nodded.

* * *

"_This battle keeps getting more and more exciting. What magic will Clark do next?"_

"Flygon, Dragon Claw!"

The dragon type closed itself towards the reptile, its claws now glowing with a blue aura.

"Detect!" Tyson commanded.

Flygon attempted to rake Sceptile, but the Pokémon simply ducked to dodge the attack. But the Dragon type continued to do the relentless attacking. It tried the attack once more, but the reptile duly dodged the attack.

"Flamethrower!" Clarke commanded.

"Detect!'

Flygon shot the flames at the reptile, but the Pokémon jumped away with excellent timing leaving nothing but burnt ground before Flygon's vision.

'_Now it's time to attack!'_ Tyson thought. But then, Clarke did something surprising.

"Fly into the air!" The old man barked his order.

"_A sudden switch from a close ranged combat! What is this Veteran trainer planning to do?" _

Leaving the Hoennian trainer and his Pokémon befuddled, the oversized bug propelled its way into the sky and took a battle stance in midair. "Draco Meteor!" Clarke commanded.

"What the!" Tyson exclaimed. "You've been hiding that move all along?!"

There was a smirk on the older man's face. It was a yes.

Flygon concentrated the orange sphere of energy in its belly and slowly pushed it out through its mouth. The attack then exploded into a shower of meteors that spread in different directions hitting each and every spot in the stadium below.

"Sceptile, Dodge!" Tyson could have commanded it to use Detect, but he couldn't as it was extremely risky to try it three times in a row.

The green reptile desperately tried to slip between the meteors, but the attempt failed when one struck it on its back, following which more and more rained on the defenseless grass type.

"Sceptile!" Tyson cried in worry.

The continuous shower of the explosive attack raised up the sand around, blocking everyone's view. When the dust cleared off, the crowd gasped.

"Sceptile is unable to battle, Flygon wins. And so the winner of this match is Veteran Clarke!"

"_It's settled! The winner of this incredible match is Veteran Clarke! This experienced trainer has certainly proved why he is one of the top contenders of the tournament!"_

Tyson silently returned his Pokémon back and muttered a praise before putting the ball back on his belt. Clarke followed suit.

"Your battle style is good," the older man commented as they were about to leave the field. "But your hit and run tactic has a flaw."

With that, he disappeared into the entrance he came from. As Tyson returned back, Clarke's words rang in his mind. It was true. By then Clarke had already studied Tyson's pattern of attacking. Tyson normally used two defensive detects and quickly shifted to offense. Knowing the pattern, Clarke purposefully made Flygon use two moves and then quickly distanced itself to use the finishing move Draco Meteor. Had he been careful, he could have saved a Detect to dodge Draco Meteor.

'_The next time, I won't repeat it.'_ Tyson thought.

"Not bad," Tyson was disturbed from his world of thoughts by a comment. He found the purple-haired trainer standing before him, readying himself for the battle with Wallace.

"Thanks," Tyson said, taking it as a complement. "Good luck with Wallace."

Paul snorted derisively. "Thanks," he muttered. There was a certain amount of sarcasm in it. Tyson realized Paul was unhappy about his battle with Wallace.

* * *

The two of us sat down in the empty waiting room.

"It's just like you said, Ash," Harvey began. "Your Dad has been set up."

My muscles tensed. Yeah, I knew it all along. But still hearing it from a stranger's mouth was a lot different.

"This league," Harvey said. "There are many things wrong with it, Ash."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"A lot of people are trying to profit themselves with an event this huge. Now, profiting isn't a bad thing, everyone loves cash in their pockets. But…" he paused. "Well let's just say there are people who are trying to cash themselves through the wrong means."

Wrong means?

Harvey took a deep breath. "What am I about to say could be harsh: Your dad has been made a guinea pig. There are a lot of big people behind your dad's ban."

"Why?" I asked. "Why do they want my Dad gone?"

Moreover how could they just destroy a man's dream just to earn a few more money? How could anyone have the heart to do something cruel?

My Dad sacrificed his time with his family for his goal and these people… they broke him just for their own selfish goals?

"Your Dad asked a lot of questions," Harvey said. "They wanted to get rid of him."

"Who are these people?" I asked.

"I don't know," Harvey admitted. "But that's why I called you."

Now that confused me. "What could I do?"

"Get to the bottom of this," Harvey said. "And expose whatever shady is going on. I need a Pokémon trainer's help for that."

That's good and all but…"Why the heck do you bother?" I asked. It's a straightforward question. If he was saying all this to me, then he certainly could have an agenda of some sort.

Harvey chuckled at this. "Come closer," he signaled me. "I don't want people hearing this."

I leaned forward as he whispered in my ears. "Once the old man Goodsho kicks the bucket I plan to own the PLA for myself."

"Urk." All I could make was a strange noise in response.

Harvey leaned back and gave me a charismatic smile. "I told that because I trust you."

My mind was blank for a second. "Why me?" I asked, collecting a few comprehensible thoughts.

"Because I don't have anyone else to trust," Harvey said. "I can't tell Cynthia or the police. The people will then make sure all the clues leading to them vanish. I need someone who could strike silently and swiftly. Cynthia's too famous to do that."

It makes sense. I would obviously help him because I need to save my old man's name. "I see," I adjusted my hat. "Then you did come to the right person," I added with a smirk.

"Now don't get carried away," Harvey said. "Before you accept my offer, I want to inform you this could be _very_ dangerous and you're just sixteen."

"My answer won't change," I said. "No matter what happens, I'll save my Dad."

Harvey nodded in satisfaction. He liked the answer. "Well, I'll give you the details once you finish your first league match. I want you to focus on the tournament as well."

He doesn't need to tell me that. Becoming a Pokémon Master happens to be my first priority.

"Okay," he said getting up, "The second match must be over and the third match must have started by now. Let's go watch—"

Suddenly the door of the room was banged open. "Mr. Harvey," the brown-haired woman from earlier was standing before us. "We have a problem. Paul Veilstone did something terrible."

* * *

A huge silence engulfed the stadium. People watched the scene before them, wondering if what they saw was a terrible joke or a poor publicity stunt.

Even the referee who was supposed to raise a flag and announce the victor stood dumfounded for a second. "R-Rhyhorn is unable to battle. Milotic wins. The winner of the match is Wallace."

There was no roaring from the crowd like in the previous two matches. Instead, most people threw whatever they had in their hands at the purple haired trainer who stood in the battlefield like an emotionless doll.

"Hey, my grandma has better Pokémon!" Someone yelled.

"Who let that jackass to the battlefield in the first place?" Another member of the crowd complained.

"Boo!" The sound of dissent echoed throughout the stadium.

"_Well my friends,"_ even the commentator didn't sound happy. "_Without a doubt, this battle just now was a disaster. Milotic finished Rhyhorn with a single Hydropump. Wallace didn't had to try much there."_

"Why?" Vincent gritted his teeth. He knew Paul ever since they were ten. They received their starters on the same day. But not once could he figure what went through the gloomy boy's mind.

Dawn's lips quivered. "Paul," she muttered his name. "Just what is going on with you?"

* * *

"You bloody son of a bitch!" Harvey caught Paul by the collar and slammed him against the wall when the trainer came back into the lobby.

Brandon left for the fourth match, along with Benga. Palmer and Tobias were nowhere to be seen too. So it was just me, Tyson, Harvey and Paul.

Paul didn't try to fight back. He averted his eyes from Harvey.

"Do you even realize how many millions did you just waste?" Harvey said pushing Paul further into the wall.

"Mr. Harvey…" Tyson tried to say something.

"Shut up!" Harvey snapped. He turned to Paul, "You don't understand the kind of opportunity you just threw into the river."

Suddenly Paul pushed back Harvey, "You're only trying to hype us up so that you could get more money!"

"Well goddamn yes!" Harvey snarled. "And you should be grateful that I chose you."

"Harvey!"

All four of us turned around and found a woman glaring at the blonde man. It was Cynthia, if you hadn't guessed it right away. "Let go of him."

"Let go of him?" Harvey asked rhetorically. "Do you even realize the damage he did to me?"

The woman walked up to him and looked him into the eye. "The next time you force people into your plans, try considering their opinions too."

"Why am I the one who made the mistake here?" Harvey asked Cynthia.

"I never said you are," the woman defended.

"Then what the hell are you saying?!"

Cynthia was obviously offended by that. She remained silent for a second. "You know what. It's my fault. I don't have any business here." The woman turned around and briskly walked away from the scene.

Harvey massaged his forehead with his hand.

I tried talking. "Um, Mr. Ha…"

The man was like a furnace on fire. "The three of you," he yelled at us, "Get out."

Paul immediately moved from his position and began walking. I wondered if I could somehow calm down Mr. Harvey, but Tyson placed a hand on my shoulder, signaling me not to try.

The guard who stood outside the room decided to sympathize with us. "Take the stairs from the left corridor; it will take you to the stands."

"Thanks," I muttered.

As we walked into the empty corridor, I said. "Hey, you shouldn't have thrown your match away like that."

Paul paused his walk and glared at me. "He's a good man," I said. He was going to help me with the Pokérus thing. But then again, he was doing it so that he could eliminate any criminal elements before he owns the PLA for himself. I guess that' selfish…but still. The exhibition matches didn't do us much harm, did it?

Paul scoffed, "Sometimes, I don't understand how your brain works. You're too naïve for your own good."

"What?!" Alright, I was trying to settle things down and now he's mocking me?

"Ash," Tyson placed an arm on my shoulders. "Calm down."

Paul turned his back on us and continued the walk.

"Do you know what?" I said as he left. "He really did us a favor by letting us participate in the exhibition matches. Stop thinking like a little kid, okay?"

Paul didn't respond to that. He simply walked away, silently.

* * *

While the fourth match between Benga and Brandon was about to begin, a certain group of girls were all discussing something else.

"I wonder what's wrong with Paul," Dawn said, as she tried figuring out by putting herself in his place. Except she failed at thinking like Paul.

"He's just an asshole," Zoey said. "He's too proud to use a golden opportunity. I'd give anything to battle Wallace."

"Me too," Misty agreed. "Wallace's like the king of all water type trainers in the world."

"What a little kid," Iris sighed.

Dawn didn't like the way the girls reacted to Paul's behavior. The Sinnoh coordinator believed there was some reason behind Paul's strange act.

"There they are," she heard someone say.

The blunette looked up and found the trio of 'blazing stars' coming through the fourth entrance that was connected to the lobby inside. Except they didn't look so bright.

"Paul, Ash!" Dawn yelled to catch the boys' attention.

"Tyson!" May called the Hoennian.

The three boys looked at the women waving to them. Paul didn't respond to her and simply walked out.

Ash, on the other hand waved them back. Both the raven-haired trainer and the Hoenn League winner joined them. They had already saved three seats for them. One of them was left empty though, much to Dawn's dismay. It somehow stung her pretty bad.

She couldn't control her emotions anymore. "I got to go," she excused herself and walked out.

"What's wrong with her?" She heard May ask as she left.

"Why don't you guess?" Iris said, teasingly.

Go to hell, she wanted to say. But Dawn knew better than to do that.

* * *

Well things were a bit uncomfortable now that my name was a lot more popular than an hour ago. A lot of people were staring at me, while most of my friends were pushing each other to talk with me. Morrison had a bandage thanks to the chair he broke in excitement.

But what happened inside was still rumbling in my mind. I shouldn't have yelled at Paul like that. He was already down by then. Even Harvey was a nice man. There was nothing with what he was doing, and nothing was wrong with the way Paul felt insulted about the whole thing too. Even I felt slightly off when Harvey ordered me to use Pikachu.

Not to mention…all that commotion seems to have worried Dawn too. Because she just left.

"Ash!" A sharp voice yelled into my ears. "Are you even listening to what I was talking?"

Misty sat beside me, and she was apparently saying something. When she realized I didn't, she pursed her lips and looked away.

"_Brandon has begun the match with a defensive move, Iron Defense!"_

The match had already started? I didn't even notice.

Benga versus Brandon, huh.

"He's Alder's grandson isn't he?" Tyson asked.

"He looks like him," I said, "So I guess, yeah."

Both Brandon and Benga had already begun with their first moves. Brandon's Pokémon of choice was Regirock while Benga's Pokémon was Garchomp.

Regirock started with Iron Defense. Its entire body was covered with a metallic layer of energy that raised its defense temporarily.

"Something's off about him," Tyson frowned, referring to Benga.

I looked at the Alder Jr. He had a smile on his face, not a calm one or a confident one. It was a vicious one…like he was some kind of wild beast or something.

"Garchomp," his voice was loud enough to reach us. "Swords Dance!"

The Land Shark Pokémon let out a vicious roar as it performed a strange movement with its claws that were now shining with a white energy.

Brandon's second command was Iron Defense again. Was he planning on raising his defense to the maximum?

"Ha, ha, ha!" Benga laughed for some reason. "Defense, defense and defense!" He yelled like a madman. "Such a boring thing to do. Garchomp, destroy it with Brick Break!"

The Pokémon lifted its hands up as the claws grew bigger. The Pokémon then rammed the sharp claws on Regirock.

The rock type had extreme defense, and on top of it Iron Defense was protecting it. And yet…

Regirock flinched as it took a step back from the powerful attack on its face. Brandon definitely wasn't happy with that.

"What's more interesting is," Benga jumped in a movement similar to his Garchomp's Brick Break. "Destroy, Destroy and Destroy!"

"Gaar!" The land shark seemed to agree with its trainer, because it lifted its arms and repeated the same moment. It started pounding the rock type like a mad beast.

One after the other, the Brick Break's landed like the sharp blows of a machete. If it were anything else other than Regirock, it could have been pulp by now.

"What a dangerous taste!" I heard Cilan exclaim. "He's almost like a psychotic killer."

Calling him a psychotic killer was going too far, but I could see Cilan's point. Something's really wrong with him.

"Ultimate destruction," I heard him cry again. "Dragon Rush!"

Garchomp stopped its pummeling, leaving Regirock to stumble on its feet. What the heck was Brandon doing?

Brandon's Regirock concentrated an orange beam of energy between its hands.

"He's trying Hyperbeam!" I heard Stephan yell from somewhere in the corner.

The orange beam of destruction was shot at the dragon that was now high up in the air.

"GAAAAAAR!"

The dragon let out a monstrous roar that exceeded Jason's Excadrill. In fact most people were probably holding their chests by now.

The orange beam engulfed the Garchomp, but it disappeared into nothingness when a powerful vortex of blue energy swallowed it. The vortex of energy then transformed into an enormous dragon-like shape that crashed down to swallow the Regirock.

The vicious dragon engulfed the rock-type into it. What happened next was an explosion like none another. The impact from the explosion was like a windstorm that almost threw my hat away while a huge amount of dust caught every one of us sitting in the first few rows.

I stood up wondering in curiosity as for what happened to the Pokémon that stood at the center of the explosion.

The first thing I saw was Garchomp, which gave another deafening roar as it looked into the night sky beyond the floodlights.

Regirock lay flat on the ground, unresponsive. Even from a distance, I could say the battle was over.

The referee rose up from behind the platform, which he used a cover during the explosion. He looked at Regirock and immediately raised the green flag. "Regirock is unable to battle, Garchomp wins. The winner of the match is Benga!"

"_For the fourth time in a row, the green flag rises! Benga has certainly proved that he is the grandson of Alder."_

"Wow…"

"Well," Misty said, "That was a bit scary."

"That's," I gritted my teeth. "Brandon's Regirock. How could it just lose like that?"

Benga, you are awesome. A lot better than I thought. Dad was correct. These people were really amazing and strong. Jason's Excadrill…it managed to overpower Samurott's spinning Aqua Jet that was tripled in power with gravity and Torrent.

Speaking of Dad…I need to inform him of the new development. Harvey told there was something I could do. He'll be really happy if I tell him.

"You know you haven't talked to me properly in a while," Misty said.

"I need to go," I told her, and immediately took off. I know she was saying something important, but this news comes first. I could always talk to her later.

The upper entrance led to the corridor where various stalls were open to the common crowd. There was a telephone around somewhere, I remembered.

My search came soon to an end as there was a payphone nearby. I dialed the number to my house that was etched into my mind, thanks to mom.

"Hello?" Dad's face appeared before the screen. His face beamed when he saw me. "Ash, you son of a cunning—"

He was cut short when Mom struck him with an object that was outside the camera's scope. I hope that wasn't a rolling pin.

"Ash, my little boy!" Mom looked excited. "You were really great. I am proud of you, sweetheart."

"Thanks, mom!" I said. "So you guys saw the match, huh?"

"Of course we did," Dad said, coming back into the camera's field. "That was one heck of a performance. But if you had perfected 'that', you could have won."

Yeah, he had a point. If I had perfected 'that'…I obviously didn't so it was out of discussion. "Anyway. Dad, I've something important to tell."

"Honey, could you leave us men for a second," he looked at Mom. Yeah, Mom doesn't need to hear this.

"For your sake Alex," Mom gave him a warning glare. "I hope it doesn't involve any dirty talk."

Now really…I wonder what would happen to Dad if I tell the kind of stuff he pulled in the one year we trained. He'd probably end up dead.

"So," A frown stood on Dad's face, "What is it about?"

"I may have found a way to clear your name," I said.

For an instant there was happiness in his face, but soon his expression turned skeptic. "What exactly?"

"There's this guy," I said. "He was the one responsible for having me in the exhibition match. He told me he knows a way to figure out the real culprit behind all this. He says a lot of big names are involved."

"Decline his offer," Dad said.

Decline? Was he nuts or something?

"Why?" I asked. "It's an excellent opportunity."

"It could be a trap," Dad said. "Look, I don't care if my name isn't cleared. I don't want you to end up in trouble. I think I have a clue about who these people are. They're too dangerous, Ash. Get the hell away from this."

"But…"

"No buts," he hissed, "Understand? Mind your own fucking business. Focus on the battles. You aren't even half as good as Jason."

"I almost beat him," I argued.

He scoffed at this. "Before you think you almost beat him," he said. "Take a look at Jason's data in the trainer database. Now goodbye."

The screen turned off abruptly. "Wha...what the hell!" I slammed the receiver into its place.

* * *

"_The final exhibition match seems to be coming to an end. Darkrai has shown that it's superior to Palmer's Dragonite in every way possible."_

The Dragon Pokémon heaved for breath as it eyed the eerie opponent.

"What the heck is going on?" Barry was jumping like a madman, "Daddy if you lose, I'm going to fine you!"

Palmer was completely cornered. He had very few options open at that moment. He had been avoiding getting close to Darkrai because he was scared of Ice Beam. But he had already been struck by Dark Pulse twice and he nearly avoided a Dark Void. Things couldn't get worse than this.

"We have no choice then," Palmer closed his eyes and folded his arms. "It's time to show the special move we saved for this tournament."

The Dragonite turned around and nodded. Palmer smirked. Unlike most people who believed the battle was coming to an end, he knew the actual battle was going to begin now.

"Dragonite," he smirked. "Extreme Speed!"

There was a hint of surprise in Tobias's eyes when he heard Palmer's words. The Dragonite spread its wings as it began to launch itself and—

_ZOOM! _

The next thing people saw Darkrai thrown into the wall on the other side of the field. The Pokémon was literally embedded into the wall.

"That's my Dad!" Barry danced. "Watch him destroy that guy!"

"Palmer!"

"Palmer!"

"Palmer!"

The crowd was rhythmically chanting his name. "That's right homies," Palmer gave a thumbs-up to the nearest camera. "It's Palmer!"

Tobias gritted his teeth. The old man was giving a lot more trouble than the legendary-user liked to face.

The Darkness Pokémon pulled itself from the wall, and landed on the ground, staring at the dragon type that fletched its muscles proudly, much like its trainer.

"Darkrai," Tobias closed his eyes. "Dark Pulse!"

"Come on baby!" Palmer danced, "Counter it with flamethrower!"

The two attacks struck each other in midair and exploded, much to the crowd's excitement. Palmer was really a man of entertainment.

"Dark Void," Tobias ordered immediately before the smoke settled down. Things went just as he planned.

The Pokémon created a sphere of darkness with its two arms and tossed it into the smoke, in the direction Dragonite stood.

"Gimme a break," Palmer laughed. The Dark Void passed through thin air as the intended target had already moved away from the spot. "Dragonite are smart creatures." Palmer said, a smirk on his face. Tobias silently cursed the man.

"Now, Extreme speed!"

The Pokémon spread its wings again and charged at Darkrai with an inhuman speed. The next thing people saw…

Dragonite was face first into the wall, while Darkrai simply side-stepped from the attack that was supposed to have smashed it into the wall.

"What the!" Palmer exclaimed.

"Darkrai are smarter," Tobias smirked. "Ice Beam!"

The Dragon didn't have much time to dodge the attack. The attack struck it square on the chest and sent it back flying and frozen.

The heavy weight Pokémon landed on the ground with a thud. Much to its trainer's disappointment, it lay motionless.

"Dragonite is unable to battle, Darkrai wins! The winner of the match is Tobias."

"_Another win for the tournament favorites! Tobias and Darkrai have clinched their first victory in this world tournament. Will he sweep through the world championship just like the Sinnoh League?"_

* * *

**Back in the stands…**

"I hope he doesn't," Virgil said. "It's not going to be fun if someone with legendary Pokémon wins this tournament."

"Exactly," Norman agreed. "Let's hope someone can stop him."

"It's going to be me," Barry announced. "I'm a lot stronger than my Dad. He told me himself."

"We'll see about that," Max said, sarcastically. "I just hope I don't fall in the same group as him."

"_With this the exhibition matches come to an end. It's time for the main ceremony to begin!"_

"Someone should call Ash, Paul and the girl," Norman suggested. "They don't want to miss the opening ceremony now, would they?"

"I'll get him," Max offered.

"Take your sister too," Norman said. "And someone who knows Paul well."

"I'll go," Vincent said, getting up.

"_First up, is an opening speech by Mr. Goodsho."_

Somewhere down on the stage, Flint groaned.

* * *

May, Max and Vincent decided to be the search party. They split up in three directions in hope of finding the three as soon as they could. The opening ceremony had already begun.

May took the path that touched the food stalls as she planned to buy something on the way back. The crowd near the stores seems to be thinning down as most people were hurrying back to the stadium in order to witness the grand opening.

Her search came to an end near a payphone, where a lone boy stood, his fist deep into the cracked screen of a telephone.

There were of course people who watched the kid strangely, but they decided to put their distance away from him.

"Ash…" May hesitated for a second.

"Why doesn't he understand?" Ash asked, withdrawing his hand. A couple of glass pieces fell down. The brunette noticed the cuts on his hand and the blood…

"Oh my god," she closed her mouth.

Ash removed the glove attached to the hand and looked at his injury. "I hate it when I realize I'm more like him. I can't control my anger."

May realized he was talking about his Dad. She made a guess, Mr. Alex must have been slightly critical about his performance today. She personally believed he did a good job though.

"Say May," he said. "You love your Dad, don't you?"

The brunette was surprised by the sudden question. "Well Ash, I think you were awesome today."

He raised an eyebrow, "I guess I was," he smiled. "But that's not the point. I just wanted to ask…" he took a breath. "Well, if the whole world believes Norman was a bad man, and you know a way to prove that he isn't. What would you do?"

May decided to go with the flow. "Then I'll save my Dad."

"What if it's dangerous?" He asked.

"Okay," she said suddenly. "You might want to tell me what's going on."

Ash looked troubled. Whatever it was, he obviously was scared to share it with her. "You can trust me, Ash. I can keep a secret."

"No," Ash shook his head. "I just don't want to get you involved in unnecessary stuff."

"Okay, mister. You're making me curious." She inched closer to him, "If you don't tell me what's going on right now," she poked him on his chest with her index finger, and spoke with a low and threatening voice. "I might start my own research on it. You know I like adventures and mysteries, right?"

The raven-haired trained sighed at this. "Alright, it's between you and me."

"Good," May smiled victoriously. Ash was too easy to convince. "So what is it about?"

Ash took a deep breath and asked, "How much do you know about Pokérus?"

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Goodsho's speech started, "…P.L.A began as a small association seventy eight years ago in Kanto. I was a seventeen year old brat when it all began," he stopped to chuckle.

"Gimme a break," Gary groaned. "This is a copy-paste of his Elite Battler's Conference speech, including the actions!" He pointed at the chairman of the PLA.

"How long is it going to last?" Georgia asked, curious. "It's been five minutes already."

"He's just starting," Gary stated the painful fact.

Goodsho's speech continued, "I made small time tournaments in Viridian. I thought, why not start something big?"

About half the crowd seemed to have fallen asleep. They can't be blamed as the time was almost 12 in the night, and most of them were physically tired by then.

"May's taking too long," Norman said. It had already been three minutes since Paul and Dawn returned. "I'll go check on her."

* * *

May's face turned different colors as I slowly revealed the contents of my Dad's tragic story. I began with how he left us, then how he trained under a Chinese man called Mao along with Bruno. How he had great hopes on becoming a Pokémon Master and how it was crushed when he was banned for a mistake he didn't do. I also told about Harvey's offer.

"I always wondered why he didn't enroll that day," May shook her head in horror. "I never knew. Who else knows about this?"

"Me, Mom, Prof. Oak, Gary and few important people like Cynthia and now..." I added, "You."

The brunette shook her head, understanding how serious the matter was. "Me and my stupid curiosity," she cursed herself.

"Now May," I gave her the best of my serious expressions. "What do you think I should do?"

She thought for a second, "If I were in your place…" she put an equally serious face, "I'll take Harvey's offer."

For some reason, I sighed in relief. "Thanks May."

"For what?" She asked, playfully.

"For the advice," I smirked. Because that's what I would do now. I wouldn't regret this decision because I made it after thinking a bit.

Suddenly a heavy arm wrapped around my shoulders. "What are you little kids gossiping about?" Norman was behind me, a strange look on his face.

"N-Nothing," the two of us said at the sometime, after stuttering a bit of course.

I saw a strange kind of fire in Norman's eyes. "Let's go then," he said pushing himself between me and May, "It's almost twelve."

Was it just my feeling or did Norman make the wrong interpretation of the events?

* * *

When we returned back to the stadium, Goodsho's speech was running on.

"…The organization is devoted to Pokémon, the profits from the league will be utilized for funding League authorized Day care, and talent scholarships are given to trainers with less means to fund themselves to travel to long distance regions like Unova from Kanto…"

"Wow," I said, "So the first half of the speech is over, huh?"

"_Half_?!" Everyone around me exclaimed at the same time. An expression of dismay was seen in their faces.

"And nobody believed me," Gary rolled his eyes.

"So," Iris asked May as we went to take the three empty chairs left for us. "What were you guys doing?"

"N-Nothing," May shrugged, nervously. She's really going to screw up with my secret, wouldn't she?

I was about to sit in the seat beside her, but suddenly Norman caught me by my collar. "I want to sit there."

"Uh, sure. " I nodded and took the seat beside Paul who pretended not to notice me.

"Sweet nothings?!" Candice screamed suddenly while the rest of the girls joined in an sequence of apocalyptic giggles.

Norman's eyebrows twitched, he glared at me for some reason. I decided to shift my gaze to the left, where Paul continued to ignore me coldly. Since that was bad too, I looked straight and decided to fixate my gaze on Goodsho, who was still trudging fifty thousand people through his boring speech.

After what seemed like one hour and was in fact two minutes, Goodsho's speech ended.

"_That was quite an interesting speech from Chairman Charles Goodsho. Give him a hand for finally ending it."_

"_And now friends, it's almost twelve. The League fire is on its way towards the Rose-Red stadium."_

The audience woke up from their slumber immediately. All of them got to their feet when the grand fire entered the stadium.

Bruno was the torch-bearer till then. He handed the torch to Alder.

"_And now the four champions of the five regions will together take the stairs and lit the grand fire!"_

Alder was shortly joined by Steven, Cynthia and Lance. The four of them held the torch together and slowly took the grand stairs to the top.

The crowd grew increasingly noisy as the champions took one step after the other to reach their goal. When the champions reached the top, there was still half a minute left for the clock to strike twelve.

"_The time's closing down. We are less than a minute away from the world's grandest tournament. In fact the countdown is about to begin now."_

I locked at the large digital screen that showed the time left for 00:00.

The floodlights were turned off, a strange darkness engulfed everyone.

Five….

It's about to begin. The tournament of my dreams.

Four…

There are many people who are stronger than me.

Three…

Who are all obstacles for my goal.

Two…

But I am going to defeat them all together with my Pokémon.

One…

"_Here it comes….!"_

Zero!

**[Music: watch?v=bsYrrOLxpSw]**

At the same moment, the champions lit the fire…that forever blazed in my heart.

The sky was at once lit up in multiple colors thanks to the neon lights and the fireworks.

The flame which began as a small ember grew bigger and bigger until it grew large enough for everyone to see.

"_The Pokémon World Tournament: Rosenburg Cup officially begins now!"_

* * *

**Once the fireworks ended…**

"_This is quite a colorful evening my dear friends! Now that the world tournament has begun, one must remember that each and every one of you are rivals to each other. So ready your guns and fire people who you think are threat to your victory. I am just kidding of course."_

Yeah, that's right. Everyone around me was a rival.

Gary, Ritchie, Casey, Tyson, Harrison, Morrison, Barry, Bianca, Trip, Stephan, Cameron and…Paul. Of course there were a lot more. In fact around forty thousand of them. If I need to become a Pokémon Master, I should crush each and every one of their dreams. Somehow that sounded painful.

"_And now it's the time everyone has been waiting for. The matchups!"_

A sudden tension rose up in the entire stadium. Silence as deadly as a Seviper took all of us over.

"_Before that, I will mention a few statistics. The actual number of participants is…don't hold your breath people…Forty six thousand one hundred and twenty six."_

"That's…giant," Norman muttered.

"_In Tier Seven, these trainers will be split into Nine thousand two hundred forty eight groups with five trainers in each."_

"Wait a minute," Gary stood up, "Are these people crazy or something? That's too many battles."

"Well they have 530 battlefields," I pointed.

"But still," Max did the math. "That's around 170 battles per a field. Quite a large number I say."

"Half of them will be curb stomping…" Paul spoke for the first time in the past few minutes.

"_The first round will run for two weeks, with each trainer having four battles with the rest of the members in their group. The top two in each group will be selected for Tier Six."_

"Two weeks for tier seven huh," I wondered. I never thought I'd get a lot of free time. Maybe…maybe I could try practicing 'that' between my battles. That's right! I can get stronger while participating in the tournament. Dad will be shocked when he sees my progress match after match.

"You seem to be happy," Max said.

"Yeah," I said. "Two weeks is plenty of time to train!"

"_And now, because posting matchups for all 46000 trainers is impossible on the main screen. We request the trainers to check their T-Dex for their matchups. Those who want to know the matchups of a particular friend can use the search option. The matchups for the favorites will however be posted on the main screen."_

There was a strange vibration in my pocket. I took out the source, the T-Dex I have left in my pocket. I took a deep breath as I was about to open the device. I wonder if I'll face one of the favorites or something.

"Ah!" Max yelled, giving a chill down my spine.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Did he have a bad matchup or something?

Max looked at me, somewhat in fear. "You and I are in the same group!" He exclaimed.

Me and Max?!

I opened the T-Dex and clicked the new message button.

"And that's not it!" Max said.

"Yeah…" I lost my breath when I saw the message on my screen. "That's not it."

"What's wrong?" Norman asked, looking into my T-Dex.

"Oh my little Max fell in the worst group possible," Norman muttered.

My brain stopped receiving any signals from the outside world. My gaze stood still on the screen. My hands shook in fear. I became deaf, dumb, and blind to everything except for the thing on my screen.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Paul asked, attempting to look into my screen.

"Ah!" Morrison exclaimed. "Look Ash's photo is on the main screen!"

Like a ghost, I watched the screen and saw the same matchup, albeit on a bigger scale.

The match up was:

Group C1

Name (Region)

Casey Britt (Johto)

Green Randall (Unova)

Max Maple (Hoenn)

Ash Ketchum (Kanto)

Tobias (Sinnoh)

**A/N: … Go wild, boys.**


	14. Broken Hearts

**25/4/2013 I have posted a bad news in the bottom. Do read it if you haven't.**

**Hey guys! Guess what? I am back! I wonder if it's been one month actually!**

**Anyway, this chapter is a fresh start to me after my exams, and happens to be the first proper chapter in the League Arc. A lot of things will start to happen, the first thing being Ash versus Tobias.**

**14. Broken Hearts**

**October 1****st,**** 2013 **

_"The exciting battle between Ash Ketchum and Tobias is about to begin. How will this trainer from Pallet Town fare against the legendary user?"_

I clenched my fists. Yes, today's the day. The day when I, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town would be remembered as one of the strongest trainers in the world, who defeated Tobias, the legendary user, better known for being a threat to Cynthia's championship position.

The crowd around was relatively silent when compared to that in the Rose-Red Stadium. In fact they were too quiet. The stadium was eerily silent as if they were all here to mourn for Tobias's upcoming defeat.

The said man however seemed oblivious to it. He stood, as confident as ever, with his hands in his pocket and a proud smile on his face. He had no doubts of his chances of victory, and the battle with me seemed only like another chance to display his legendary performance.

"I'm going to defeat you Tobias!" I exclaimed, just so that I could say 'I told you so' later.

Tobias closed his eyes, as if my proclamation was just another joke to him. He enlarged the Pokéball in his hand, and gave me a brief glance before tossing it away. It was an invitation from him to see if my Pokémon were good enough to fight his mighty army of legendary Pokémon. He was challenging me.

The Pokéball was thrown high into the air, as if Tobias wanted to see how high he could throw. The ball exploded, and a bright mass of energy shot at the ground beneath. The bright mass then slowly took shape and then grew and grew and grew…

I held my breath and so did, perhaps, the fifteen thousand people seated in the Lily of the Valley, Rosenburg Stadium. The Pokémon that was materializing before my eyes was clearly tremendous in size as it now easily stood taller than a building. Legs and hands slowly shaped, and a hunch backed body was formed. The Pokémon finally grew to a good fifteen feet in height and then the materialization finally stopped, much to my sanity.

"Pika….!" Even Pikachu took a gasp when the bright light disappeared, exposing the tremendous Pokémon underneath.

It was a monstrous creature, one with an extremely bulky frame that would make any manmade structures of the same size seem like matchsticks. Its skin wasn't skin. They were hard, powerful armor like plates that were deep red in color. The Pokémon's body was entirely covered in those red masses, supported with jagged projections that protruded out of its body. The projections were like spears which looked powerful enough to tear through buildings. Its entire structure was hunched and the red layer of skin on its back continued down its back and formed a powerful tail that was similarly lined with the jagged projections.

A creature that large should block the sunlight completely from our faces, but instead, everything seemed a lot brighter than every day.

"G-Groudon…!" I was fascinated, and terrorized by the Pokémon. The Pokémon let out a low growl and stooped a bit to look at me in the eye, with those giant yellow eyes that were the size of a football.

My legs shook. This wasn't what we prepared for. Yes, we did expect more legendaries on Tobias's side, but what stood in front of me was just a beast. It was something you pray to, for good sunlight, for good crops and to protect the world from droughts, not something you battle.

I lost the battle before it even began. No wonder Tobias was so confident.

_"Now which Pokémon will Ash send against Groudon?!" _

What could I possibly send against _this_?

"Use your Pikachu," a voice muttered in my ears.

I looked to my right, and found a blonde man in a business suit standing beside me on my platform. "That's suicide!" I said. Pikachu doesn't have a chance against Groudon in the first place; add the fact that his electric moves would do nothing to it and it would give you 'No' as an answer. Besides, what was Harvey doing over here?

At that point, I noticed that a certain purple-haired trainer was standing behind me, a frown on his face. "Sometimes, I don't understand how your brain works. You're too naïve for your own good."

"No, I am not!" I yelled.

I am not naïve. I won't just use Pikachu against a Groudon just because Harvey told me to.

"But you were prepared to use it against Jason's Excadrill," a new voice spoke. At the referee's spot, was a familiar man, who always liked to boss me around. Dad glared at me and said, "It's a trap, Ash."

At that moment, the sky suddenly turned dark. Out of nowhere, a purple lightning erupted amidst the sea of darkness above. The whole sky seemed to twist around the source of the lightning. A vortex formed in its place, slowly sucking everything around me leaving nothing but an empty space.

"What's going on?" I turned around, and asked no one in particular.

A blue sphere formed somewhere in the distance. It wasn't the sun nor the moon, as the blue object carried an eerie glow. It was an eye, I recognized. A Darkrai's eye.

"Darkrai," Tobias's invisible voice echoed through the space. "Dark Void."

Something in the darkness moved. It was the hands of a gigantic Darkrai that slowly shaped a dark sphere from somewhere far away.

"No!" I yelled desperately.

The Pokémon lifted the hand carrying the Dark Void, ready to pitch it at me.

"Chu!"

And then something else happened. A powerful lightning erupted from seemingly nowhere and shot its way towards the Darkrai.

I turned around and found my best friend, the source of the lightning, Pikachu.

My eyes brightened, "You have come to save me, didn't you?" A sense of relief swept through me. The rodent however, gave off a sharp glint that was uncharacteristic to it. The Pokémon gave me a wicked grin I never saw on its face.

"Pikachu…" I sensed something was wrong. Something was really wrong. I stepped back, comprehensively in fear.

The rodent's cheeks sparked with electricity. Suddenly, a powerful lightning was released from the Pokémon's body. The next thing I knew, my body was engulfed in a powerful shock.

My lungs started betraying me. I couldn't breathe anymore. My hands turned numb with shock, and felt like they were no longer a part of me.

* * *

I jumped awake, all of a sudden. My breath was ragged, as if the dream I just had was real. I was no longer in the unending darkness, but in the presence of a pleasant morning sun, on my bed, in the hotel room.

"Pika?" The rodent stood on the bed, watching me curiously.

My hands were still numb; a sense of vibration was tingling inside my body. Normally that would mean one thing. My little buddy woke me up with a thunderbolt again.

"You were screaming," Gary who stood by the bed said. "Heard you say Darkrai."

I took a deep breath and compelled my unresponsive body to stand. The sunlight coming through the windows was bright, it must be over nine if my guess was correct.

"Yeah," I said making my way towards the window. The scenery beyond was really amazing. The lake-view totally justified the price the hotel demanded. The water body was separated from the hotel only by a small walk, beyond the trees that lay in between.

"Well," Gary said as he took his position at his computer. "Given your matchup, I can't exactly laugh at that."

Yeah. Of all the people I know, I perhaps had the worst matchup. Maybe not as worst as Max, but he was still a long way before he could deal with some serious opponents. It wasn't like I was scared of fighting Tobias or something. It's just that facing him in my first league match was slightly unsettling.

I peeped at the screen, wondering what Gary was doing. There was a trainer's photo on the screen, coupled with a few achievements he made and the Pokémon on his team.

"Joey huh," I muttered. Joey was some trainer with three league experiences. His record was good, if not excellent. "So when's your match?"

"Day after," Gary said. "Kid's a third-grade trainer. Nothing I can't handle."

"Good for you," I sighed. I wish I could share some of his luck.

I walked back to my bed and opened the T-Dex I left by the pillow. "Still Tobias," I muttered, before putting the device back in its place.

"You can't expect the matchups to change overnight," Gary gave me a sympathetic smile.

He was correct. I'd rather get used to it. I gave the T-Dex another look, trying my best to get familiarized with the feeling.

Group C1

October 2nd, Lily of the Valley, Main Stadium, Tobias versus Ash Ketchum. Time: 9:00 A.M

October 2nd, Lily of the Valley, Stadium 87, Green Randall versus Max Maple. Time: 9:00 A.M

October 7th, Ever Grande, Main Stadium, Tobias versus Casey Britt. Time 11:30 A.M

October 7th, Ever Grande, Sub Stadium 4, Ash Ketchum versus Max Maple. Time 11:30 A.M

October 10th, Indigo, Main Stadium, Tobias versus Green Randall. Time 2:00 P.M

October 10th, Indigo, Stadium 54, Casey Britt versus Max Maple. Time 2:00 P.M

October 13th, Vertress, Sub Stadium 2, Ash Ketchum versus Green Randall. Time 5:00 P.M

October 14th, Vertress, Main Stadium, Tobias versus Max Maple. Time 7:30 P.M

October 15th, Silver, Sub Stadium 1, Casey Britt versus Green Randall. Time 7:30 P.M

October 16th, Silver, Sub Stadium 1, Ash Ketchum versus Casey Britt. Time 10:00 P.M

Tobias, Max, Green Randall, Casey. That's the order I would face my opponents in. But right now, my mind's just Tobias, Tobias, Tobias, Tobias.

_October 2__nd__, Lily of the Valley, Main Stadium, Tobias versus Ash Ketchum. Time: 9:00 A.M_

October 2nd, that's tomorrow morning. I would be facing Tobias and his legendary Pokémon in the Lily of the Valley Stadium. It's quite ironic because the last time we faced, we did so in the real Lily of the Valley Stadium. Perhaps, it's a perfect stage to set my revenge against what I suffered last time.

Heracross. Torkoal. Gible. Sceptile. Swellow and Pikachu. All six of my Pokémon except Pikachu were defeated pretty easily. There's no way I'd face the humiliation again. I have one year of my Dad's intense training behind me right now.

"I'm going to win this, Pikachu." The rodent gave a nod at this. He was thinking the same too.

"You sure are motivated," Gary smiled, finally taking his eyes off the screen.

But then a strange rumbling noise interrupted any further conversation between us. The culprit was of course, my stomach. I rubbed my hair, "I guess I'm hungry too."

"Yeah," Gary chuckled. "Although it seems like the League wants to drive away all those with a good-appetite."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Both you and May are the only ones to have bad matchups," Gary said.

"What's up with May's matchup?" I asked. I was too shocked by Tobias's news last night, I didn't hear anyone else talk. By the time we got back, I was half-asleep. Brock and Cilan helped me walk back, like I was drunk. Speaking of which, where were the two?

Gary made a sly face at that. "Why don't you find it out yourselves? I'd love some chemistry between the two of you."

What? That sentence made no sense unless he was making romantic implications between me and May. But that'd be something out of the blue, wouldn't it?

"You're really dense aren't you," Gary sighed. "Makes me envious, Ashy boy."

Envious? "Why would you envy me?" I asked. Although I hated to admit it, Gary was much more of a ladies man than I was. He had looks, style and he knows how to push the buttons (according to Dad).

Gary shrugged and turned back to whatever Joey he was studying earlier. "Brock's downstairs, by the way," he said. "He said he'd order breakfast. Told us to come down in case you get hungry."

"Wow really," I jumped at the mention of breakfast. "I gotta freshen up, quick!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes earlier, before May entered the bath, she found Misty sitting on the windowsill, a depressed look on her face as she watched the lake. Dawn was on the bed, her face buried into the pillow, and Iris was trying to use the computer, failing to do so.

And now…it was only a surprise to her when she saw the three in the same pose.

There was an incorrigible silence in the room, something the brunette didn't like. She walked up to Iris, who was trying her best to open the Pokémon data list of Tobias.

"Tobias?" May asked, taking the mouse under control. The list took some time to load.

"Well everyone was making a fuss out of him," Iris said. "Thought I'd see what Ash's first opponent could do."

The list opened and the icons of two Pokémon appeared. "Only two?" Iris was surprised.

"Well," May said. "Tobias never used more than two Pokémon outside the League battles and the battles with the Elite Four were secretive."

Iris's attention fell on the second icon. "Latios," the woman muttered.

"So," May said in a low voice, "What's up with those two?"

"Dawn, I could say Paul," the gym leader said in an equally low voice. "Misty, I don't know."

"Let's find out," May said, a foxy smile on her lips.

"Before that," Iris had her own cunning smile. "What were you doing with Ash yesterday?"

May's face didn't go red in embarrassment. It went pale in fear. Ash told her to keep the whole thing a secret from the others as it was sensitive information.

"N-Nothing," May stuttered.

Iris frowned. May was terrified for a second, wondering if she would pursue the matter, misunderstanding it as a romantic affair. But Iris didn't.

"Okay," Iris said, an obvious fake smile on her lips. "You take Dawn. I'll take the bomb."

* * *

"So what stole your peace of mind," Iris asked, as she leaned against the wall beside Misty.

Misty sighed, and continued to maintain her gaze on the greenish blue waters of the lake. "Nothing," she said with a defeated tone. "Just watching the water."

Iris rolled her eyes. "Well you can tell me about it," she said, placing her hands against the wall.

Misty looked at the dragon trainer, "I told you there's—" the redhead paused when Iris was looking at her intently. "Fine," Misty admitted. There was no lying to Iris because she could study her like a book. "It's that idiot. He's getting on my nerves lately."

A smile spread on Iris's lips. "What exactly are we talking about?"

"He's ignoring me," Misty said, her eyebrows knitting in anger. "Purposefully. He visited Cerulean for a match and left without waiting for me. He ignored me all the time during our stay in Pallet. Even yesterday…" she stopped, as her heart was only burning more and more with the events she recollected.

"C'mon Misty," Iris clasped her arm. "Why would Ash do that? He isn't the type to avoid people if he doesn't like them. You know him better than that, right?"

"People change over years," Misty said, as if it were a terrible thing. "The way he acts around his Pokémon, the way he battles. He's changed a lot. Why can't this be another change?"

"Well I met him only two years ago," Iris said, "But I don't see anything of that sort in his character. He's just having his mind fixated on other things."

"You talk as if I want him to date me," Misty shrugged. "I'm just telling that he isn't giving the minimum respect one should treat a friend with. I was talking to him about it when he just left."

"He could have something else to do," Iris defended. "Maybe some important work."

Misty jumped from her position on the windowsill. She was obviously furious at the way Iris was defending him. "He spent ten minutes talking to May after that," she almost yelled. "Secretly," she added.

Misty didn't realize she was speaking too loudly until she noticed that the other two broke their conversation and were looking at her.

* * *

May jumped onto Dawn's bed, the blunette shifted her head at the sudden movement. "Hey May," she greeted, obviously lacking her usual cheer.

"Well…" May hesitated for a second. "What's wrong?"

"Just been thinking," Dawn said.

"About?" May asked.

"A lot of things," the blunette replied.

"Like Paul?" May added teasingly.

The blunette took a heavy breath. "You people like teasing me, don't you?"

May felt bad for the blunette at that moment. They had indeed been teasing her a lot. The poor girl was perhaps finding it difficult to share things with them anymore.

"I promise I won't," May said, surprisingly without crossing her fingers.

The blunette rose, "Well," she started, pulling her hair back. "I was just thinking about what Paul did yesterday. The only way I could understand what he did was by getting into his shoes and think the way he thinks. But I couldn't figure anything out."

"That's it?" May was surprised that there wasn't a heart-wrenching story behind her dull mood. She was just trying to be Paul, hence the gloominess.

"Yeah," Dawn smiled. At that moment—

"He spent ten minutes talking to May after that," Misty yelled. "Secretly," she added.

A chill went down May's spine. It was clearly obvious that everybody had figured out she and Ash had a couple of minutes of talk. That of course had many implications, but May was more worried if she'd accidentally leak Ash's secret out. She knew her lips wouldn't hold a secret tightly.

"Look," Misty turned to the brunette having realized she dragged them into the conversation. "I don't care what's going on between you and him. But that doesn't mean he treats me like thrash. We were good friends for two and a half years; he should at least respect that. "

"Nothing's going between me and Ash!" May defended. Of course she couldn't say what exactly they spoke because it was a precious secret.

"I just heard you stutter," Misty pointed to the computer, referring to the conversation she and Iris had earlier.

Sharp ears.

May looked down, defeated. She could have argued something, but it meant compromising Ash's secret.

Misty took a deep breath. She looked at the lake one last time and immediately walked away out of the room, despite Iris's protests to stop her.

* * *

"Let's go!" I exclaimed as I jumped out of my room. "It's Breakfast time!"

"You're the only one in the world who gets excited over breakfast," Gary rolled his eyes.

"Of course," I said. "I'm a lot hungry. And as soon as I finish eating, I have a lot of work to do."

"Preparing a team for Tobias?" The brown haired asked.

"Yup," I said, pumping the excitement into my body. It was perhaps the only way to calm my nerves that would otherwise get to me. Tobias. Tobias. Tobias. My mind kept echoing the name to me.

As we talked, the door to the girl's room opened, and a redhead stormed out of it. She took brisk footsteps and walked towards the lift. It just so happened that we were standing between her and the lift.

"Hey Mist," I greeted her as she approached me. Misty halted her footsteps, and looked at me with intense emerald eyes. Although she tried to look calm, judging by the twitch of her eyebrow, one could say she was genuinely pissed at something. She walked towards me briskly, which somehow seemed dangerous. In a surprising move, she stopped beside me and—

_STOMP!_

Something hard crunched my foot. In moment's notice, I was in a world of pain as the hard object on my leg twisted, generating excruciating amount of pain in my foot. The redhead then dashed past me, ignoring Gary, and pressed the elevator button.

As I clutched my foot and exclaimed, "What the hell was that for?!" She didn't even give as much as a glance before disappearing into the lift.

"Wow," Gary said, as soon as the storm called Misty left. He turned to me, giving my foot a sympathetic look. "You have a way with girls, Ashy-boy."

Somehow, I realized that was sarcasm.

* * *

As we sped downstairs, eager to get the breakfast, we spotted Brock at the reception, talking to the brunette receptionist. There was a kind of blush on his face as he spoke, but one can't say the same about the receptionist.

"He tries hard," Gary commented. "Guy has some tough luck though."

"Yeah," I admitted. Although my knowledge on such issues was minimal, I have witnessed Brock's attempts over four years of my journey. He'd fall in love with every girl of proper age and end up with heartbreak. "I wonder how long this one would last."

"Wanna bet?" Gary asked.

"No thanks," I said. "Both of us want the same choice don't we?" It's not like either one of us was foolish enough to put money on Brock.

"I'm going to go to the lake and get Cilan," Gary said, "You don't like putting your stomach waiting, do you?"

"The lake?" I asked. What the heck was Cilan doing in the lake?

"Fishing sommelier," Gary rolled his eyes as he walked past the reception. He gave the receptionist Brock was talking to, a small wink. The woman blushed, surprisingly.

Goddamn Gary.

Brock finally noticed me, he left the receptionist, much to her sanity. "I presume you're hungry," Brock said.

Of course.

"So what are we going to eat today?" I asked.

"Well," Brock scratched his chin. "The hotel management gave the eight of us a private dining room. But I can't exactly cook. They're strict about it. But the food here's great too."

My eyes gleamed with happiness. "Let's hurry up then!"

"Easy boy," Brock said, "They told it's going to take some time. By the way," he asked. "Have you decided on your team against Tobias?"

"I didn't," I admitted. "But I have a good idea on whom I want to use. All my Pokémon are equally trained right now, any of them can fight legendary Pokémon."

"So you won't make a predictable choice and use the strongest Pokémon you caught in each region?" Brock smiled at that. "That's some pretty good thing to do, Ash."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Dad taught me using only a couple of strong Pokémon against tough opponents will get me in the long run."

"I've checked their levels," Brock nodded. "Yeah, you did one hell of a job in raising them to equals, Ash. One year ago, there was a huge power imbalance in your team."

It was true. Most of the Pokémon I caught in Johto and Unova were improperly trained when compared to those I caught in Sinnoh. My Dad says Paul was responsible as for how strong they have become. Because he was my driving factor. Having an amazing rival like Paul would make me amazing too, I guess.

"Well," I realized I was keeping Brock away from the receptionist. "I'll go wait in the dining room."

"One more thing, Ash," Brock said as I was about to leave. "No matter what's the result. I'm pretty sure you'll give a great performance tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it."

I smirked at that, "Tomorrow, you'll exactly know how far I have made since we parted in Sinnoh, Brock."

Because tomorrow, I'll be winning.

* * *

**By the Rosemary Lake, Rosenburg Indigo region…**

Three women were hiding by the trees as they watched a certain green-haired man fish. Out of the three women, only one of them was in fact interested in him, despite her denial. The rest two were dragged out in the process.

"Look at him," Burgundy snarled. "He acts all cool and elegant, but he hadn't caught a single Pokémon in ten minutes!"

Georgia rubbed her forehead. She was keener on training than stalking Cilan Striaton. If she needs to fight Iris or Drayden or even Lance, she needs to put her top performance in the rest of her battles and make it to Tier 5. But knowing Burgundy, if she didn't allow her to stalk and rant about Cilan for some time, the tasting-princess would definitely be in a fouler mood and somehow manage to ruin Georgia's day. She doesn't even know why she was hanging with Burgundy despite the fact that she hated her personality. Maybe because, she was similar to Burgundy, Georgia thought. Except she was less outspoken.

Their new companion, Casey Britt was in a gloomy mood. She rested her cheeks on her palm as she picked pebbles with her other hand and threw it at a distance.

"What's wrong with her?" Burgundy asked, finally taking a notice of the Johto trainer.

"Well, she fell in the same group as Tobias," Georgia said, "There's a good chance she gets knocked out in the first round."

"Oh," Burgundy crossed her arms as if giving it a deep thought. "You know Casey," Burgundy said, gathering the girl's attention. "Your chances against Tobias are good to zero," she said frankly. "But," she smiled. "You can always get the second position and make it to Tier 6. That Ash Ketchum makes decisions based on Cilan's evaluation. His Pokémon will obviously suck. So he'll lose like the sore loser he is."

"Ash isn't a sore loser," Casey said, "But I think I'll defeat him. I was only a rookie when I last faced him. But now," she clenched her fists. "My parents have decided to root me over the Electabuzz team this year. I can't fail them."

"That's the spirit," a male voice said. The three girls were startled by this. A brown-haired teen stood before them.

"Gary Oak," Georgia muttered his name, as she barely remembered. He was sitting right next to her in the opening ceremony last night and seemed to have a good knowledge on Pokémon battling.

"Hey Georgia," Gary said, brushing his hair. "You look beautiful, today."

Georgia couldn't help but smile at this. He was obviously a player considering the fact that they weren't even proper acquaintances. "I suppose so," she said, giving him a skeptic glare.

Gary faked a smile at this, "I need to check on Cilan. Got to go."

As the brown-haired walked past them, Georgia thought, 'At_ least he's smart enough to know when to back down.'_

"Is he hitting on you?" Burgundy asked as they watched Gary's retreating figure.

"Not really," Georgia said, As if she would let someone do that.

"I wouldn't mind someone like that," Casey said, to which Georgia and Burgundy gave her a strange look.

* * *

The dining room wasn't hard to find. It was a small room, separated from the other ones by a partition. There were two tables inside, each accommodating four chairs. It's perfect for the eight of us.

As I walked in, I realized I wasn't alone. A familiar redhead was in there, seated by the table on the left, reading the menu card.

I still don't have a clue why she stomped me earlier. Maybe she was in a bad mood and I caught her in midst of it. Anyway, I think it's better if I greet her again. She could be in a better mood this time.

"Morning Mist," I greeted.

There was no response. Misty was still reading the menu card. Alright, now it's getting ridiculous.

"That's not a book," I said. "You don't need to read it all day."

Misty dropped the card on the table and gave me a cold glance, "Happy?" She asked.

I tried pulling the chair opposite to hers to sit down. "Why don't we—" I paused when the chair wasn't coming out. Misty had locked the chair with her legs. I raised my eyebrow at this, but the redhead looked indifferent.

Okay, something was really wrong with her and I am not exactly sure what was. She stomped my foot first, and then pretended to ignore me and now she doesn't want me to sit with her.

"What's your problem?" I asked.

Misty gave me a defiant look. "You are my problem," she said. "Now kindly get out of my face."

"Pi," Pikachu muttered, much like me the rodent didn't have a clue.

Giving her one final glance I walked over to the other table and sat down. No sooner did I do so, someone else came in.

"Breakfast!" May skipped as she came in. Gary was wrong; I wasn't the only one who gets excited over breakfast. May's cheerfulness however disappeared when she saw Misty, who was giving her a cold glare.

May gave her a sheepish smile and skipped over to my table and sat before me. She leaned down and whispered, "So how are things going on the Pokérus front?"

I jumped at this, as if I just felt a ghost on my shoulder. That was completely out of the blue. "May!" I hissed. "You do realize how dangerous the topic is?" I glanced at Misty, wondering if she might have overheard something.

"Aw come on," May whispered, getting too excited for my own good. "Misty can't hear us."

At the mention of her name, Misty gave us a sharp glance.

Now, I really regret telling May about this. If she keeps this on, I could end up in a big soup without having a way to swim out of it.

"Okay," I said, leaning closer to the brunette as she did the same. "The guy Harvey who offered to help me told we'd meet tomorrow after my match with Tobias." I gave Misty another glance, just in case she might have heard something. The redhead looked indifferent, as she played with the fork on the table.

"He seems to be a good guy," May said. "He's willing to clear your Dad's name."

That wasn't exactly true. Harvey clearly said he was doing it for his own benefit. He didn't have any qualms admitting that. No wonder Dad told me to be careful. "Well," I said, "He caught Paul by the collar and called him names."

"Wow," May's interest only piqued. I am clearly doing a bad job at keeping things from her. "Could you tell me what exactly happened in the waiting room?"

I caught Misty giving the two of us an awkward glance. "Hey May," I said, "I think Misty can hear us."

May looked in the redhead's direction. "No, she doesn't have a clue. She's just curious. Isn't that cute?"

I am not sure how she felt those powerful glares cute. "It's a long story, May," I said, trying my best to avoid the conversation.

"Well, tell as much as you can," May said.

"Fine," I said, giving in to her insistent demands for the second time.

* * *

Misty was getting more annoyed as the moments passed. Ever since May entered the room, the two of them have been whispering into each other's ears as if they were lovers who were sharing some private jokes. May was getting more and more excited as the time passed. She never knew Ash was capable of something like that.

But the annoying part was that they kept looking at her. She even heard her name once or twice. So whatever was going on, it was clearly some bad joke about her.

"….Misty can hear…." Her ears picked up the words as Ash whispered something to May. May looked at her, and said something to Ash while smiling. They were laughing at her, the redhead realized. That Ash Ketchum! She couldn't help but feel bad that May was in cahoots with him. She considered the brunette a friend, but it seems she was getting betrayed.

As they spoke, May gave a wide variety of reactions. Misty unconsciously clutched onto the fork in her hand.

* * *

"He told the three of us to get lost," I said, finally concluding the story.

May leaned forward as I did the same. "Well how does this affect Pokérus?"

"Not sure," I said, "But I definitely don't want to get slammed against the wall like Paul did."

May giggled at this. "Harvey sounds scary after what you said."

"Yeah," I said. "That's why I am considering what my Dad—"

My words were interrupted when something whizzed past our noses. At first I thought it was the wind playing tricks on me. Then again we were in a closed room.

Both May and I stared at each other, wide-eyed, as we looked to our left and found a fork, embedded into the perforated walls of the partition. A chill went down my spine. Judging by the dreaded look on May's face, she must be equally tensed too. The two of us turned to the right and found Misty shaking her left hand. "Sorry," she didn't sound so. "My hand slipped."

Slipped?

"Look who just got an upgrade to her hairstyle!" Iris exclaimed as she walked in. She sensed the tension in the atmosphere and gave me a strange look. Then she noticed the fork embedded in the wall. "How did that go in there?" She pointed at it.

"M-Misty's hands slipped," May said, still shaking from the dread. Iris narrowed her eyes and mentally measured the distance between the two tables to see if what May said was physically plausible.

"Anyway," I said gingerly taking the fork out of the wall. It's to the best of our health if we don't talk about dangerous stuff right now. "You were saying something?"

"Well," Iris said, running her hair through her neat combed—

Wait. Iris's hair was combed?! In fact, her bushy purple hair was now perfectly still like anyone else's. It extended down to her hips and was tied up with a yellow piece of ribbon. The bangs on her face were neatly curled, and the hair itself seemed to glitter.

Even May and Misty watched her with a stunned expression. "You look gorgeous," Misty said.

"Things that Dawn can do when she's depressed," May said, watching her in wonder.

"Well Ash," she said running her hands through her smooth hair. "How do I look?"

Dad's preaching flashed in my mind. _"When a girl asks you about how she looks, you must always reply with one answer."_

"You look beautiful," I said, giving her my best smile.

Iris frowned at this, "Your expression ruined the dialogue," she said. "You need to blush when you say that."

What? Why would I blush?

At that moment Brock, Cilan and Gary came in and spotted Iris as soon as they entered. Needless to say, they were baffled.

"Wow, you look amazing," Brock commended her.

"You just fell into my radar," Gary said, studying her carefully.

I expected Cilan to throw in a heavy dialogue weaved with words that would make Iris happy. But instead, "Uh…I-Iris…y-y-y-y…." he tried to speak something, but the words simply missed his tongue. He looked like he was sweating profusely even in the presence of an air conditioner.

"Now that's a reaction I like," she smiled, obviously looking happy.

What the heck? I spoke more than Cilan did. I never understand these girls.

"Well the credit goes to me," the last member of our crew entered with a happy smile. "It was a wonderful piece to work with."

"You did a fantastic job Dawn," Misty said. "One of these days you need to work on my hair too."

"You need to let them grow a bit first," the blunette said. "Then I'll make sure your sisters will be jealous of you."

Misty smiled at this. So was she pretending to be grumpy only around me? I realized I might have done something to upset her. But what exactly?

* * *

Breakfast ended pretty soon after that. Both May and I obviously topped the list for eating the most.

"So," Cilan said as he wiped his hands. "What are you guys planning for today?"

"I'm going to the ranch and decide my six," I said, "Then I will go train for some time. My Pokémon need to be in top condition for tomorrow."

"In that case," Brock said, "I'll join you. I need to do a weekly checkup anyway."

"I'd like to watch Ash train," May said. "But my brother's going to have his first league match tomorrow. I guess he needs my support."

"I agree with that decision," Cilan said. "Max is a green trainer with no league experience whatsoever, he needs some nurturing."

Max would face Green Randall, another guy in my group. I don't know much about this Green Randall guy other than the fact that he was from Unova and won a league before. Nothing else was on my mind with Tobias upfront.

"I'm going to Zoey's," Dawn said. "I don't have a match for the next five days. Zoey has one on 4th. We could try a few contest moves."

"I'll just go wherever Iris goes," Misty said. "The two of us don't have a match for like—ages."

"I'm going to watch Ash train," Iris said, which immediately changed the expression on Misty's face.

"Then I'd go fishing," Misty said, bitterly. "It's not like I'm interested in watching a Mankey train."

The rest of the guys looked at me, wondering what happened between the two us. I simply shrugged because I knew nothing.

"I will be glad to join you," Gary said, "I studied all my four opponents. Let's just say I have a ticket booked to Tier 6 already."

He's changed but he's as cocky as ever. But Gary's cockiness always has a good amount of analyzing behind it. He knows when to slack and when to work hard.

Misty gave me a small glare. I stopped responding to them because my brain was having a hard time understanding why she was mad in the first place. But it seems like her anger was only growing by the second.

I don't like this at all. But I'll find a way to sort out things with her. I just need to finish my battle with Tobias first.

"Well in that case I'll join Ash," Cilan said. "My battles don't start until 5th."

Brock and Cilan, huh. Yeah, this training could be interesting. I just need to decide on my six first.

* * *

**Somewhere in the Rosenburg Island…**

It was an industrial complex, one could say. An abandoned one, one might add after some hesitation. But the fact was that the factory in the outskirts of Rosenburg was very much alive. It has been claimed to be owned by the Neon Corporations, an industrial unit that existed only on papers.

An old man supervised as the objects moved through the conveyor belts, transforming them from useless piece of metal to mechanical wonders.

The said old man was more a scientist than an engineer, one would say judging by the lab coat he wore. He was short, but not fat. He had black eyes that studied everything around him critically. He had white hair with hints of gray in it, and an equally white moustache,

A man dressed in a grey work uniform approached. "Professor, Lord Giovanni has called."

Few minutes later, he was in the control room of the factory, which was air conditioned and cool unlike the rest of the factory that was contrastingly hot. "Yes," he spoke into the phone which carried a video footage.

It was Giovanni, the leader of the former Team Rocket that was disbanded a year ago. "How are things on your end," Giovanni asked, as expressionless as ever.

"We've only managed to make the prototypes for now," the scientist said. "They don't have much rigidity. But the analog system is more or less perfect. The response time has been significantly improved too."

There was a hint of impatience in Giovanni's face. "Are they usable, Professor Zager?" He asked.

"No, I'm afraid," the Professor admitted. "Cancelling the Hold Items project and switching onto the new one increased the work load in here. You must understand that we're trying to do make great things in a rusty old abandoned plant. Time is essential."

"I want it ready by the second match at least," Giovanni said. "Also did you manage to deduce a way to escape the checkups?"

"I did," the Professor said. "Unfortunately we have no choice but sneak our data inside manually. Fortunately, I have the right person to do it. Although we need some extra funding for doing that. The grunts are unhappy with our salaries."

"The _workers,_" Giovanni corrected. "I know how to handle them. As for the funds we may have to let Mr. S deal with it."

"Mr. S, huh," the old man chuckled. He's a dangerous man, alright. But a resourceful one indeed. "Speaking of resources," he said. "Jessie, James and Meowth have become obsolete since their premature departure from the league complex."

Giovanni's face remained indifferent. "Tell them that they need to sort it out on their own or they might have to leave the team."

Zager was slightly disturbed by this. "They are loyal, Mr. Giovanni. They are valuable assets."

"I said my word," Giovanni didn't like people talking back, but Zager held an extremely important position for him. He was also the glue between Giovanni and Mr. S. "Tell them to start with the person who put them in a mess in the first place."

"I will," Zager grunted. Seems like Old Jessie, James and Meowth would have to work hard to prove their worth again. "Then I shall take leave. There's a lot of work to do, and very less time."

* * *

The League ranch was only a couple of blocks away from the Hotel and the Stadium Complex. The place was enormous; in fact it puts Professor Oak's to shame in many ways possible.

Our T-Dex was used as an identification to let us in. Care has been taken so that unauthorized people won't come in and mess with the Pokémon inside. A rusty old gate separated the main building from the ranch.

The ranch was a huge chunk of greenery. Most of the land near the gate was a plain meadow where Pokémon like Tauros, Rapidash race through. Beyond the grass were three different kinds of regions. One had a small water canal passing through, the other was a marsh land and the fourth was filled seemed almost like a dense forest.

"Wow," I said eyeing the Pokémon around. "This place is giant."

"Well yes," Cilan said. "A perfect place for all the Pokémon to rest. Most of them will be going through a lot of battles thanks to this tournament. A place like this is ideal for them to relax and replenish their mind and bodies."

"Cilan blabbers," Iris was disinterested in his speech. "As usual. Now moving on."

"This place has so many Pokémon," Brock said, "But the funny thing is, unlike most places, Pokémon here don't group with other Pokémon belonging to the same species."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well," he explained. "Most trained Pokémon tend to behave like that. They would rather group with their trainer's Pokémon and form a territory for themselves."

"So where are my Pokémon?" I asked. If that's correct, my guys would have selected a good territory.

"Paul's Pokémon took the part near the waterside," Brock pointed. "So I had to shift yours to the woods. They don't exactly like each other."

Wow, I never my Pokémon had rivalry with Paul's. I guess it was expected. Like trainer like Pokémon, they say.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed suddenly. I looked in the direction the rodent pointed and found an Umbreon running towards us. The rodent jumped off my shoulder to greet the Pokémon.

"That's Gary's Umbreon," Brock said as Pikachu and the dark Pokémon exchanged a friendly chat.

"The way Pokémon interact with each other reflect their trainers," Cilan said, "It clearly shows Gary and you respect each other."

Yeah, Gary's become more of a friend than I thought. I bet if someone told me this six years ago, I would laugh at them.

"Gli! Gli!"

My thoughts were disturbed by a familiar cry. It was Gliscor, he had a happy look on his face, judging by the tongue he struck out. "Hey!" I waved. The Pokémon lunged and tackled me to the ground.

"It sure likes you," Iris said as Gliscor crushed me with its hug.

I pulled the Pokémon off me, who looked at me with gleaming eyes. "Yeah," I said. Gliscor used to be an oddball in my team. As a Gligar, he wanted to battle and get stronger but he was too much of a coward. But thanks to Gary, I solved that problem and he evolved into a super strong Gliscor.

The black Pokémon Umbreon greeted Gliscor, who gave her a salute in return. "Ash look," Iris tugged my shoulder.

In the sky there were five more Pokémon. "Staraptor, Unfezant, Noctowl, Pidgeot, and Swellow," I greeted each by name. The five bird Pokémon took it as a cue to land and perched in a circle around us.

"All of you are here huh," I said studying each of them. "Good. I want you guys to gather all of the Pokémon at one place. Tell them it's an important meeting."

The bird Pokémon nodded and took off into the sky all at once. Gliscor stuck its tongue out once more and did the same, using his tail as an aid to propel into the sky.

"I haven't seen Ash's Pokémon since then," Iris said, obviously excited. "They must have changed a lot in one year."

"There are some whom you haven't met," I said. Gengar, Primeape, Pidgeot and Squirtle have returned since then.

* * *

** Meanwhile…**

Dawn and May were in the subway station. The blunette was heading to Vertress to meet up with Zoey, while May was heading to Silver where she would be training with her brother and father for the rest of the day.

"So," May said as they headed to their respective platforms. "Tell me the truth, Dawn."

The blunette looked at her, confused. "Truth about what?"

"Are you really going to meet Zoey?" She asked, giving her a sideward glance.

"Well…"Dawn smiled sheepishly. "After I meet Paul on the way."

May grinned. "I thought so," she said, pumping her fist.

"Well before you come to conclusions," Dawn said, adjusting her scarf a bit. "I'm worried because I was the one who told him to take care of that Rhyhorn."

"And—?" The brunette asked.

"And I just want to know why he threw that match with Wallace," Dawn said, folding her arms. "I assure you, I have no other reason."

"Well," May mused, "What if I tell the reason?"

"You?" Dawn raised her eyebrows. "I've been racking my head all night and I couldn't figure it out. Besides you barely know Paul."

May gave the blunette a devious smirk at that. "It's because Paul felt insulted by the guy who forced him into a battle without any prior info."

"That…" Dawn gave her a skeptic glance. "Maybe," she said as her brain began working. Her eyes shone in excitement at her discovery, "Paul would definitely take it as an insult. Yes it fits!"

May gave her a victorious smile. Dawn continued, "Add that to the fact that Paul doesn't like doing things that wouldn't benefit him in any way possible. It perfectly fits!"

May simply shrugged. "Told ya."

"But…" Dawn now looked befuddled. "How would you know that?"

"Ash told me," May said, "He told it as if it was quite obvious."

"Ash?" Dawn lowered her eyes. "How did he?" She was genuinely surprised. As far as she knew, they were opposites. So Ash should never be able to figure out why Paul did things. "I couldn't figure out, even when I tried putting myself in his shoes all night."

"Maybe," May said, unsure herself. "It's because Ash doesn't put himself in Paul's shoes to understand him. He simply understands him."

Simply understand? "I see," Dawn realized her folly. Instead of making a futile attempt by thinking like Paul does, she should simply understand him more. Ash does, so it didn't take him any time to figure out his reasons. "Thank you, May!" Her face brightened.

As Dawn left her a few minutes later, May thought, _'I'm sure you don't have any other intentions right now. But this is how things start.'_

The brunette was excited. She liked watching real-life love stories after all. Then again May likes anything that's remotely adventurous.

* * *

**Back in the ranch…**

"And with that," I announced. "Everyone's here, right?"

A collective cry replied me in return. All the Pokémon I registered for the tournament now assembled at a clearing among the line of trees, which was my Pokémon's territory. It was relatively dark thanks to the shade of the trees, despite the fact that the afternoon sun was in fact blazing.

"Good," I said, taking a seat on top of a log. Brock and Cilan did the same while Iris sat on a branch. I took a deep breath and said, "Today we've all gathered because I've an important announcement to make."

The Pokémon nodded seriously. "Tomorrow is my first PWT match."

A glint was seen in almost everyone's eyes. "Wow," Cilan said. "They all look like trained soldiers."

I ignored his comment. "My first match will be against Tobias." There was a mixed reaction among the Pokémon. Some had no clue as for who it was while few were a bit shocked. Garchomp was explaining something to Feraligatr who listened to it intently.

"He's a trainer who uses legendary Pokémon," my voice cut down the murmurs between them. "I have faced him in the Sinnoh League and…" Memories of that dreadful day still flashed in my mind. "I lost. Pretty badly."

Torkoal began to cry all of a sudden. He was obviously disappointed that the only match I had used him in a year ended up into one-hit KO for him. "But this time, I'll defeat him." I clenched my fists. "We've trained and trained and trained. And it's all come to this. This is where I prove to the world how strong of a trainer I am!"

The collective roars of the Pokémon echoed through the silent ranch. The battle cries my Pokémon sent the rest of the Pokémon around scurrying.

"So," I said, "I can only use six of you tomorrow. But remember, I need all of you to support me."

The Pokémon growled in agreement. Now it comes down to which six I should be choosing.

"So," Brock spoke. "What's the plan?"

"I only know two of his Pokémon," I said, "I can only guess that he's got four more as such."

"Hmm," Brock fell into deep thought. "You need to choose your members carefully, taking care into consideration that you'll face Latios and Darkrai."

"Heracross is the best match I suppose," Cilan suggested. "Bug and fighting isn't something Darkrai or Latios would like."

"Either of them can use Psychic type moves," I said. A sudden realization hit me. "Of course!" I exclaimed. "I just have the best Pokémon for both Darkrai and Latios!"

"Good," Brock smiled. "So let's go with the other five."

"Wait," Cilan asked, shifting his gaze from me to Brock. "He didn't tell what his first Pokémon is."

I couldn't help but smile at that. Brock said, carrying his own smile. "Ash never reveals his team before the match. He likes to put us on a hold."

"Uh," Cilan said looking at me strangely. "Now that I remember you always avoided telling me which partners you'd be using in the Unova League."

"And I am planning to choose more than six," I said, "I won't decide on the final team till tomorrow morning."

"Now, now," Iris said jumping from her tree. "You don't do that to us. I was actually hoping to see which six you'd choose."

"Well," I grinned. "You'll see them in action tomorrow."

"Moving on," Brock said. "Ash, most legendaries are psychic types, so you need to take care of that. And there are a few in the legends that could move fast like Suicune and some very defensive like Brandon's Regirock. "

"So are you telling me I need a team that could deal with fast Pokémon and has some good offense," I stroked my chin. "Alright, two more to my team."

"So fast," Iris blinked in surprise.

"Well it's only a shortlist," Cilan explained. "The main selection could take more time."

After much discussion, I finally came with a team of twelve Pokémon. The names were only privy to me, but I think my friends understand my reasons.

"Brock, can I get the ranch people to send the six Pokémon when I need them?" I asked.

"Yeah," Brock said. "Just go to the Pokémon center and give us a ring."

"Good," I smacked my fist against my palm. "Off we go to the battle nets then." I ran excitedly, Pikachu in tow. Tomorrow, I am going to win. No matter what!

* * *

**The Rose-Red region…**

In a posh looking restaurant that only attracted the higher set of the people in the money chain, a man and a woman sat, one opposite to the other by the table. People who knew the woman were surprised as for who the man was. The women around commented that the man was handsome enough to deserve someone as popular and beautiful as she was, while the men only gave envious glances at the man.

The woman was Cynthia, the blonde champion of Sinnoh while the man was one Harvey McMillan, a blonde man whom most women termed as charming, handsome and dashing.

"I'm glad you accepted my offer," Harvey smiled. "So, I expect you have forgiven me?"

"Forgive you for what?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow. She looked straight into his blue eyes with her grey ones.

"Well," Harvey smiled, conceding in defeat. The woman wanted a confession out of him. "Okay, I am sorry for yelling at you like that the other day."

The champion shook her head at this. "Paul," Cynthia said, "Paul's the one you need to apologize."

Harvey leaned against the chair, reeling from disappointment. "I don't need to apologize to him for anything."

"You insulted him," Cynthia reminded.

"And he paid back for it," Harvey gave a derisive laugh. "In fact he did more than make me pay for it. He made my event an international embarrassment."

"It was a hit," Cynthia tapped her fingers on the table. "The TRP ratings of all the channels that broadcasted shot up like crazy."

"Paul did nothing to contribute to that," Harvey frowned. "He only deterred the progress."

"Come on Harvey," Cynthia looked at him as if he was a little child. "He's no different from you. You forced him to do something for your own reasons; he didn't do it for his own reasons."

"I know I'm a selfish asshole," Harvey shrugged. "And that makes him?"

Cynthia sighed at this. "There you go. Turning my words on me."

"Cynthia," Harvey said, "When I heard about Ash and Paul's story from you, I was excited. Now this was something people would like. Two trainers, two different paths, and the same goal that would make sure they'd confront each other at some point. It's poetic."

"Your point?" Cynthia asked.

"I wanted them to face each other in the Tier 6 Knock out round," Harvey said. "Now, I have lost interest in this Paul guy."

"You wanted to do what?" Cynthia was more troubled by what Harvey said. She gave him a judgmental glare.

"Okay," Harvey sighed, raising his arms in defeat. "I may have something to do with Ash facing Tobias in round one right off the bat."

"You rigged it," Cynthia looked at him as if he was unbelievable. She stood up immediately. "I can't believe I trusted you."

"I can explain," Harvey tried stopping her as the woman opened her purse and placed her share of the money. She stormed off after that, ignoring Harvey who called out for her twice before giving up.

Harvey rubbed his forehead. Yes, it was true he rigged it, but he did so only because it didn't seem unfair to him. Ash was bound to face Tobias at one point or the other. There was no point in him facing random useless people after all the hype he gave to him.

Cynthia was mad, and that meant he was in trouble. But he knew he'd find a way out of it. More importantly, he didn't want to ruin things with her.

Nevertheless, what the audience wanted was only good battles, not curbstomping all the way till Tier 4. If he hadn't adjusted a few matchups, the tournament would become the longest and boring tournament in the history ever.

In fact all the fifteen thousand tickets to the match between Ash and Tobias were booked in just fifteen minutes of the opening. If anything, his strategy was an astounding success.

* * *

**The Vertress Region…**

"Rhyhorn, Rock Blast!"

The rock type Pokémon let out a growl as it opened its jaws. A bright energy shaped in the Pokémon's mouth, and soon a barrage of rocks was shot at the opposing Pokémon.

The opposing Pokémon was Weavile, a Pokémon that was as dark as night, and had a red crown on its head. The Pokémon had sharp claws that were good enough to slice through steel.

As the Rock Blast was shot at the ice-type, it smacked them off with its powerful claws, not leaving a single Rock Blast to fly past it.

"You need to focus," the purple-haired trainer yelled. "Aim for Weavile's Chest."

The Pokémon nodded, it then refocused its aim on the ice-type and prepared for another barrage of rocks.

The blunette watched them train in the battle net from afar. Paul was more like a strict coach, she realized. Ash usually helps his Pokémon by doing what they do, and understand their problems. It's amazing how those two differ in everything, right from the basic training methods.

The Weavile moved its claws swiftly, parrying away each rock with ease.

"Put more power!" Paul exclaimed. "Weavile wasn't even trying."

The Rhyhorn looked down, discouraged. Paul frowned at the Pokémon's defeatist attitude. "This isn't the time to look down!" He yelled. "Get up, and aim!"

The Weavile looked bored. It was so because the Rhyhorn was probably the weakest training partner it had under Paul's care. It couldn't even fathom why it was still in the team. Normally a weak Pokémon like that wouldn't even make it into the team. It shifted its gaze to outside the net and promptly found the blunette watching them from afar.

"Wea," it warned the trainer.

"What is it?" Paul asked, shifting his attention to where the Pokémon pointed. Surprised washed over his face. It then turned into a frown.

Realizing she was caught peeping at him again, Dawn scratched her hair in embarrassment. Since she was caught watching, she thought she might as well go and greet him.

As the blunette approached Paul, he shifted his attention to the Rhyhorn, who was still in a dark mood of disappointment. His eyebrows twitched. He had to find a way to re-ignite its spirit.

"Well," Dawn said with a bright smile. "How's the training going?"

"Terrible," Paul said, not giving her a glance. "I'm having a hard time dealing with Rhyhorn. I could've trained five more Pokémon with the time I spent on it."

"I see," Dawn realized his frustration. "But I'm glad you're not giving up on it. I guess you're stubborn too."

He scoffed at this, "I can't be Ash, I realized from training this Rhyhorn. I am what I am."

"Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on it," Dawn said stooping to the Pokémon's height. "So," she addressed the Pokémon. "How are you Rhyhorn?"

The Pokémon grunted something inaudible. Dawn could at least understand that it was down. "Listen, Rhyhorn," she said placing a hand on the Pokémon. "You want to become stronger, don't you?"

The Pokémon nodded. Dawn smiled, "Then you need to put more energy into your training. You've to give it your all!"

She rubbed the Pokémon's rocky scales. Much to Paul's surprise, the Pokémon seemed happy. It grunted and growled something at Paul. Paul's frown relaxed. "Weavile, get ready."

The Pokémon nodded and took an offensive stance. Dawn walked away from the field and stood behind Paul. "Rhyhorn," the trainer commanded once more. "Rock Blast!"

The Pokémon moved with more energy than ever. It opened its jaws to shoot the Rock type move. Its eyes shone with a bright blue energy and soon rocks were fired through its mouth like cannon.

The first shot was repelled by Weavile with ease, and so was the second shot. But as the Pokémon prepared the third shot, it muffled another grunt and fired it with extra force.

If the first two shots moved like a car, then the third one struck like a plane. The dark type startled by the sudden change in pace was struck by the attack on its chest. The supereffective move had a significant impact on it, and the Pokémon was thrown away by the force. Before it could even do a proper landing two more attacks struck it, dealing more damage than the Weavile liked.

The Weavile angered by the attack, spread its hands and summoned an attack. A powerful cold wind was generated by the Pokémon's dance. The Rhyhorn, not expecting the Ice-type move was completely wide open to the attack. The snow pellets rained on the part-ground type, it managed to endure for a while but soon it fainted on the spot.

Dawn was panicked by the sudden attack. "Why did Weavile do that?"

"It was a part of training," Paul said. "I told Rhyhorn not to let its guard down after launching a successful attack." He enlarged the Pokéball he plucked from his belt and sucked the Pokémon right back in. "You should never let your guard down," he said to the Pokéball before putting it back onto his belt. He didn't say it aloud, but he was actually surprised to see Rhyhorn move like that. It showed how a little bit of kindness changed Rhyhorn's attitude. The Rhyhorn would match well with a friendly trainer like Ash rather than a harsh one like him. He took another Pokéball and returned the ice type back. "Good job," he muttered.

"Your training methods are too harsh," Dawn chided.

Paul frowned at this. "If a Pokémon isn't trained for all worst possibilities in the basic training itself," he said. "It won't stand a chance in actual battles. My training methods may be harsh, but they're better and make sure I don't yell things like 'Get up', 'I believe in you' a lot often."

Paul's words brought a smile on her face. Yes, it was true that Ash did that a lot often. In fact, Ash always trained his Pokémon in improving their skills and strengths. He never prepares them for terrible eventualities. That was his flaw, he hardly plans much.

"He has a quick brain to compensate it though," Paul said. "Unlike him, I can't make up things on the spot."

Of course she wouldn't admit he was right. "So," he said, giving her an awkward glance. "What brings you here? I thought you'd be watching Ash train right now."

"I will," she said. "I just wanted to see how you were doing first."

Paul raised an eyebrow, "I don't need a babysitter."

"Excuse me," Dawn said putting her hands on her hips. "I didn't come to babysit anyone. I was just wondering what happened to you yesterday."

Paul's face changed colors. "Nothing happened yesterday."

Dawn relaxed her shoulders. "This guy called Harvey forced you, Ash and Tyson to battle the top favorites. You threw your match because you felt you were insulted and used like a marketing tool."

He looked puzzled for a second. "Yeah," he sighed at last. "But you can't exactly blame Harvey for manhandling me. I ruined him a lot of money. Besides, my main motive was not to reveal my cards till the actual game begins."

"So I guess you are alright with it?" She asked.

"I'm not a two year old, and you're not my mother," he said, brushing part her. "But, uh," he paused. "Thanks for coming."

Dawn realized, Paul was more of a Cyndaquil than she thought. For some reason, she started liking him getting uncomfortable around her.

"Paul," Dawn stopped the purple-headed trainer. "Ash understands how you feel. So…" she hesitated, "I just wanted to say…." She paused again. "I want you to make up things with him again."

The purple-haired trainer gave her a strange look for a second. "You know who my first opponent is?" He asked.

"Of course I do," she said, "The two of us are in the same group, right."

Yes, it was something she hadn't shared with her friends, but she and Paul were in fact in the same group and they'll be battling in their last group matches. She didn't tell anyone because her friends would start talking stuff like fate blah, blah, blah.

"Of course," he murmured. "His name is Ash Jr., a trainer from Pallet Town."

"Pallet?" Dawn didn't know this. She knew his name was Ash Jr. At first she thought it was just a strange coincidence but—

"He has the same Pokémon Ash had," Paul said. "His starter is a Pikachu, he has a Charmeleon, Bulbasaur and Squirtle and a Pidgeotto. I don't think it's just a coincidence. He's a thorough Ash fan."

"Wait," Dawn stroked her chin, surprised that Ash actually had a follower. He'd be really excited to hear it. But of course if he's an Ash fan, then—"That means he hates you."

There was a strange smirk on Paul's face. "I'm looking forward to meet the kid actually."

* * *

As Dawn and Paul continued to chat, among the bushes outside the battle net were two young men, who watched the blunette interact with the purple-haired trainer.

"Look at her," the chubby Kenny pointed. "She's getting awfully close to him."

"I have made a thorough study on them," Conway said, adjusting his glasses. "I have figured the reason behind Dawn's interest in Paul."

"Mind sharing?" Kenny asked, although he knew Conway couldn't hold himself from telling about his discovery.

Dawn has a kind heart," Conway said. "She's obviously worried about Paul ever since she learned new things about him."

"Like what?" Kenny asked.

"Like behind every asshole," the nerd said, "Is a painful backstory. But at this rate…" there was a hint of worry on his face, "She might end up falling for him or the vice versa."

"Or in the worst case," Kenny made a dreaded face. "Both."

Conway gave his hideous laugh at this, "Of course, that's why we're here."

He, he, he.

* * *

**This chapter was mostly dedicated to a bit of character development for everyone. I know I'm divulging quite a bit from the main character, but the other ones need some focus too.**

**Also, I hope I am dealing the shipping department slightly differently. I'll do my best to not make it clichéd. But sometimes, few things are unavoidable. Working with a dense main character is really difficult; he misses most of the romantic hints. But that's fun in its own way.**

**Also, who is this new Ash Jr., I have mentioned in this chapter? He'll make his appearance soon when Paul battles him on October 3****rd****. We have Ash's battle on October 2****nd****, first! (And we're still midway through October 1****st****.)**

**The next chapter will be more like this one, but there'd be a surprise in the end. Look forward for another chapter, next week.**

**Review and review more, people! **

**Also, I'd like you to ask a question: Which character do you like the most in Road to be a Pokémon Master? It could be anyone who has appeared from chapters one through fourteen. Do mention it in your reviews!**

**25/4/2013**

**A terrible news. I got into a fight in a train, and the guys I fought did the worst thing possible. Smash my laptop against the floor. The display was gone, and I can longer use it (till I get it fixed). I have developed a lot of plot for the upcoming chapters in my Pokemon fics, Road to be a Pokemon Master and When I became a Master, and my codegeass/fsn fanfic When Geass Twists Fate, and the worst damage was taken by my dbz fic, the hunt for gold (because I barely remember anything and I wanted to write it this summer.)**


	15. The night before the match

**I have one of the reviewers saying that they were worried that this story is a love triangle between Ash, Misty and May. Well people, in case you haven't read the description, it is multi shipping. It means we won't have a love triangle, or a love quadrilateral or a pentagon, we'll have a love network that is much much more complex.**

**15. The night before the match**

**The Silver region…**

It was ten in the morning. Most of the participants of the PWT, Rosenburg Cup were deep immersed in their training sessions. The battle nets were the only place where trained Pokémon were allowed to attack each other, or perform their moves. There were forty thousand trainers and only around hundred nets per region. Luckily the league policy states that only those with a match the next day was allowed to train. The rest could train in the outskirts of Rosenburg forest, but only at their own risk.

Max Maple was no exception to following a strict training regime. The young trainer who was only days away from his eleventh birthday was deep immersed in his training with his father, the gym leader Norman.

His object of training was the gecko Pokémon, Grovyle, while his father had a not-so intimidating Pokémon on his side. The Pokémon Norman used was more like a teddy bear that had unsteady feet. It kept wobbling like a drunkard, unable to stand still. The Pokémon had red spots all over its cream complexion, which were known to be as unique as a human's fingerprints. The Pokémon without a doubt was Spinda.

"Grovyle," Max commanded. "Use Leaf Blade!"

The gecko Pokémon jumped at the wobbling panda, the leaves on its hands were shaped into swords that could cut through a rock if the Pokémon wanted. The Leaf Blade was cut horizontally, in an attempt to slash the Pokémon, but the wobbling panda bent back like a flexible dancer while still maintaining its unsteady dance.

"Don't let it go," Max said, "You have the advantage in close combats!"

The Pokémon repeated another slice, this time with its left hand, but the panda simply spun like a ballerina and got out of the way. The movements repeated, Grovyle kept using the sharp grass type move, but Spinda kept dodging the attack like it was nothing but a minor chore.

Max was getting impatient. Seeing his son's reaction, Norman smiled. "Just because a Pokémon doesn't have notable stats or an intimidating appearance doesn't mean it's easy to defeat."

"Oh yeah?" Max ridiculed. "Jump back and use Energy Ball!"

The grass type jumped back. The leaf on its head shone with a bright green light as a sphere of natural energy shaped in its mouth. The Pokémon spat the attack at the Spinda, which duly jumped over the attack. The Energy Ball struck the ground causing an explosion on the ground behind. Spinda disappeared inside the smoke that appeared after that.

_'Damn that thing,'_ Max cursed.

"Now," Norman's expression stated that he was shifting to the offense. "Spinda, Teeter Dance!"

"Uh oh," Max muttered.

The smoke cleared, and Spinda was found unscathed in the midst of it. The Pokémon swung its arms as it made random motions with its feet, resembling a folk dance of some culture.

"Grovyle, don't look at it!" Max warned. But it was too late. The Spinda's movements mesmerized the grass type and soon the Pokémon started repeating the same movements in its trance.

"Aw man," Max took out his Pokéball. "Return, Grovyle."

The red light sucked the grass type in the midst of its dance. Having ensured that the Pokémon was back inside, Max took a deep sigh. "You went easy on me in the gym battle, didn't you?"

Norman gave a sheepish smile at that.

"Well that's what a Gym leader is supposed to do," a familiar voice responded.

The father and son identified the source immediately. "May!" Max exclaimed, happy to see that his sister actually cared to show up. He wasn't counting on it, actually.

"Well," the brunette smiled. "Thought my little bro needs some help."

Max scoffed at this, "As if I need a coordinator's help."

"Talk back when you actually win something," May quipped.

"Are we going to bicker all day?" Norman asked, "Or are we going to train?" He turned to his daughter, "May, I think you need to put extra effort on training. Your opponent is a favorite remember?"

"It's not like she stands a chance," Max said. "I have a better chance of winning against Green Randall than May with her opponent."

Norman and May exchanged a smile at this. "You don't have a clue how good your sister has become."

"But Dad," May said, "I still can't beat a favorite."

"Nonsense," Norman cut her off. "You are as good as the gym leaders of Hoenn. You have a good chance."

Max blinked at this. His sister was as good as the Hoenn Gym Leaders? He had been away from home for a year while May and his Dad trained together. Although May was a coordinator, she was an excellent battler. In fact, she was superior to Drew and few other coordinators when it comes to battles. It comes from the fact that her early career was severely affected by Ash's battle style.

But even then, her opponent was a giant. Even Hoenn Gym Leaders don't stand a chance against him. If they did, then they would be Hoenn Champions not Gym Leaders. His father was obviously too optimistic.

"But before that," May said, "Did you guys work on Green Randall?"

Max answered confidently, "Of course, sis."

"And?" She asked.

"Green Randall's from Unova," Max started. "He has won the Unova League three years ago on his second try. He concentrates on speed and confuses his opponent with it."

"He's just like Ash then," May concluded.

"No," Norman frowned at her hasty conclusion. "There's quite a difference between concentrating on speed and concentrating on offense."

"Meaning, "Max explained, adjusting his glasses. "Green Randall spends a lot of his Pokémon's training only on speed. Ash on the other hand trains on offense. Speed is only a byproduct for offense."

"Matchup wise," Norman said, "Green Randall won't be a problem to trainers who tend to have balanced teams. But to people like Ash who concentrates less on defense and more on offense—"

"Green Randall is a nightmare to face," Max completed for his father.

"Wow," May said, having nothing else to say. "He's a Unovan league winner, huh."

"Yeah," Max said. His sister now knows how good of a threat Green Randall was. Truth be told, Max didn't have much hopes to get into the next round. Tobias was impossible to defeat. Ash, Green Randall are hard to beat too. If anything, he had better chances against Casey.

The brunette put a melancholic expression, "Looks like both me and my little brother are going to end up losing in Tier 7."

Norman patted either of the siblings, "The two of you are _my_ children. You might not win against the favorites of your group but you can beat the rest three."

"I could," May said, "But him?" She pointed at Max.

Max and Norman smirked at this. "Well, your little brother has a secret weapon that can beat Green Randall, Ash and Casey."

"What?" Max's sister looked at both of them, incredulous.

* * *

**Meanwhile, somewhere nearby….  
**

A pink-haired woman, a violet-haired man surrounded a green-haired boy who was in midst of his own training.

"Hi there Soledad," Drew greeted the Kanto-native. He was slightly annoyed to have been disturbed in his training, but he had a fair amount of respect towards Soledad that nullified it completely. "And Harley," he added slowly.

"My, my," Harley clasped his hands. "Don't you have some good manners, sweetheart!"

Both Drew and Soledad ignored the comment, "Guess whom did I just saw in the nets?" She asked.

Drew raised his eyebrow, "Steven Stone?" He asked, with slight sarcasm.

Soledad leaned down and whispered, "May."

Drew put an uncomfortable face at this. "And you disturb my training for that?"

Soledad crossed her arms, "Drew," she teased. "May's going to have a big match day after tomorrow. She's been your moral support in Johto, remember?"

Three years ago Drew, May, Soledad and Harley began their journey throughout Johto together. They were a strange group. They were rivals and friends the same time. Drew always acted like a prick around May, while the brunette was no slouch in retorting back. Harley was an agent of destruction between the two. Whenever May or Drew try pulling a prank on each other, he fuels them and turn it into a great disaster. Soledad was their saving grace, who somehow ended up saving the day. In the end, they became thick friends. They travelled Sinnoh after that and finally participated in the second Wallace Cup in Johto along with Dawn, Zoey, Nando and Kenny.

The tournament ended up with Drew facing Zoey in the finals and him defeating the redhead. He was given the incredible opportunity to face Wallace. May kept cheering him throughout, and was perhaps the energy behind his victory. Granted Wallace wasn't even trying because of his sudden loss of interest in contests, he still won.

And he had to return the favor. Because May will be facing—

"You shouldn't be even thinking about it," Soledad said. "You should be the one cheering her, Drew."

"Or else," Harley said, faking panic. "A certain trainer from Pallet Town will steal the girl from you!"

Drew looked at Harley, disgusted. "Mind your own business, Harley." He turned around and walked away from the duo.

As Drew left, Soledad threw Harley a sore glance, "We were supposed to be subtle."

"But I thought he likes her," Harley said, adjusting his Cacturne hat that was misplaced because of his dancing.

"He's too proud to admit it," Soledad smiled watching the boy vanish.

* * *

**The Indigo Region…**

The sky was turning dark as the dawn turned to dusk. An unusual couple was walking together in the streets. If one were to say it was possible five years ago, almost everyone who knew them would laugh. But now it was reality. It was the ever handsome Gary Oak, and the redhead Misty.

"So, that Aerodactyl ended up destroying everything," Gary said, as the couple walked from the shopping district towards the stadium complex. They had to cross the area to reach the hotel.

"Oh my god," Misty said, taking a lick at the cone Gary bought her earlier. After spending three hours with Gary, she realized Gary knew what exactly a woman likes and acts accordingly. The problem of course was that most of her tastes were different from other women's.

"Brave Bird!" A loud command took their attention towards a practice battle in a net. The couple watched as the Predator Pokémon, Staraptor tucked its wings and dove towards the ground. The red hair on its head was blown back by the force, and a sudden fire shrouded the Pokémon. The Pokémon spread its wings as the fire turned into a blue aura.

The target was the motionless Sceptile that watched its opponent come and strike.

"It's going to be hit," Misty exclaimed, knowing well that the attack would be fatal to Sceptile.

As the bird was about to strike the grass type, the Sceptile disappeared in the last minute, startling the bird Pokémon. The bird Pokémon landed on the ground after suffering through the recoil damage. It turned around and threw a glare at the grass type which now watched the bird, with a cocky smirk on its face.

"What a show off," Gary chuckled. "Just like its trainer."

"Huh," the redhead didn't realize it till then. They were actually watching the training session of a certain raven-haired trainer.

"No matter how many times I see it," Brock who stood behind commented. "Sceptile's speed never ceases to amuse me."

"Hmm," Cilan said spreading his arms. "It vanishes like a magician and pops right where you don't expect it. That's truly a wonderful treat for the onlookers."

"I was actually rooting for Staraptor," Iris said, equally excited. "He was awesome against Snorlax."

Misty's attention drew away from the conversation. She honestly liked the training that was going on. Ash's Pokémon always had unique personalities. The unusual Samurott from the exhibition match particularly caught her attention. She just didn't like the trainer who was commanding them.

* * *

Gary noticed the change in Misty's face. A good thing to do would take her away from there. That's what a perfect gentleman would do. But that would further rift her and Ash apart. Besides, it wasn't like he was committed to her. Gary was in fact not committed to anyone. He was still searching for that one magical girl that would enchant him in her love. Now was not the time to be selfish.

"Let's go watch," he led her, despite her disinterest.

As the couple entered the net, the foursome in the net gave different reactions. Cilan and Brock gave Gary devious smiles, while Iris gave the same to Misty. Ash however, looked indifferent and said, "Hi, guys. Welcome to Operation Tobias."

"Operation Tobias," Gary rolled his eyes. "So how's your confidence level, Ashy-boy."

"Good," he smirked, "Unless you are planning to bring it down."

"Trust me," Gary said, "If you were my opponent. I'd do that."

Gary shifted his attention to the Pokémon behind. Staraptor's Brave Bird was extremely powerful, he judged by the burn marks on the field from when it almost touched the ground. Sceptile's speed…well that was just disturbing.

"So are you using them tomorrow?" Gary asked.

Ash stretched his muscles. He must have not taken a break in hours. "I need to find a way for Staraptor to hit Sceptile. If I do that, he'll be a powerful asset tomorrow."

"What about you guys?" Iris asked, a sly smile on her face. "How did your date go?"

* * *

Misty felt her cheeks going red. Iris always knew a way to embarrass her. She looked at Gary for help, who simply snickered at this. "It wasn't a date," he said.

Misty saw the blank expression on Ash's face. He was obviously troubled by something.

Yes, he was jealous. Somewhere in her heart, Misty felt a Butterfree flutter. "But," she said, abruptly clasping Gary's hand. "We're going on one tomorrow."

Iris, Cilan and Brock threw her an incredulous look, obviously stumped by her sudden announcement. Gary on the other hand remained cool and reserved. She expected Ash's face to turn black, but instead it brightened.

"I found a way!" He exclaimed. He turned to his Pokémon. "Staraptor, get into the air. Sceptile, battle position!"

So all this while, while she had made her stupid announcement he had been thinking about his Staraptor?! Misty felt her blood boiling like lava.

Iris took a quick notice of this. "Misty," she tried stopping the lava from erupting. "Tomorrow is his big day. You—"

"It's fine." She said softly, much to everybody's and her own surprise.

But of course, she would definitely burst if she were to stand there any longer. The redhead silently turned around and left the net. She turned back as she felt someone following her. It was Iris. "Don't follow me," she warned before continuing on her way.

* * *

Staraptor took its usual position in the air. It glared down at the calm and confident Sceptile with its red eyes. It was obviously frustrated by the fact that it hadn't been able to land a single hit over the past half an hour.

"Staraptor," I encouraged him. "This time you'll hit Sceptile."

Sceptile only smirked at that. I had been saying that again and again to motivate Staraptor, but he kept failing. Sceptile was too fast, like Trip's Serperior.

"Alright," I pointed my finger at Sceptile. "Staraptor, Quick Attack!"

The predator Pokémon shot like a missile towards the ground; it then made a sharp-V and directed itself towards Sceptile.

You are doing great buddy!

Sceptile looked as confident as ever, for he had been dodging Quick Attack and Aerial Ace all day. Staraptor approached the gecko at an incredible speed to hit Sceptile. But the speed was nothing to the grass type. But—

"Combine it with Aerial Ace!"

Just as the missile was about to strike the target, it disappeared, and appeared way above in the air. Staraptor performed the Aerial Ace curve like it always did, except at a monstrous speed. It made its way towards Sceptile once more, except at a lot more than just double the speed.

Sceptile was befuddled by the sudden difference in pace, but it performed its usual dodge by jumping swiftly into the air, effectively dodging Staraptor's attack. Except—

The Aerial Ace curve wasn't complete. The last step, fly through the hoop and hit the target remained. The target was an extremely fast moving one, but at that speed, it didn't matter.

The Aerial Attack hit Sceptile square on its chest, sending the Pokémon flying away. Sceptile landed on the net and fell to the ground, grunting in pain. It bit the twig in its mouth, holding onto it along with its consciousness.

Staraptor landed before it and gave a proud battle cry. "Sceptile, are you okay?" I asked the grass type, who glared at me as if my question was an insult to him.

"Awesome job," I gave Staraptor a high-five. "That special training with Swellow back then did help you out, right?"

Staraptor nodded. Pikachu said something to commend it. Sceptile, who got up to its feet, grumbled something too.

"Did you see that everyone?" I asked, turning around. Brock and Cilan were the only ones left behind. They were both marveled by Staraptor's performance, but more than that, something seemed to be troubling them.

Did I do something wrong?

* * *

**Near the Hotel Complex…**

"Man that was really refreshing!" Morrison exclaimed at the top of his lungs. The redheaded man was accompanied by his new best friends, Stephan who shared similar interests as him. Ritchie, the geek of their group and Cameron, the scatterbrained idiot. Overall they were a lively bunch or so Morrison announced often.

Stephan nodded in agreement. "Nothing beats the sauna. What do you say guys?"

Ritchie forced a smile, "Yeah." He wasn't in fact fond of sitting with in the steam, half naked, along with Stephan and Morrison. It only got worse when they started slapping each other's backs.

"The five of us," Morrison announced. "We must call ourselves, the five wonders of the world."

"That sounds great," Stephan said fletching his muscles. Ritchie sighed, wondering if he could find a way out.

"But," Cameron asked. "How the heck are we five?"

Morrison frowned at this, "What do you mean? You, me, Stephan, Ritchie and Ash. That's five of us."

Morrison then realized something. If Ash belonged to their group, shouldn't they be hanging out with him? "We have to find Ash!" Morrison announced.

"But how do we do that?" Cameron asked, scratching his hair. "He could be training anywhere."

The five of them fell into deep thought as they tried figuring out a way to find their 'missing' friend. At that moment, Cameron spotted a certain redhead walking towards the hotel complex.

"Hey," Cameron exclaimed. "Isn't that the girl who hangs out with Ash?"

"Yeah," Morrison scratched his hair. "But I don't know her name. Anyone?"

Stephan shrugged. Then they shifted to Cameron who shook his head. They finally moved to Ritchie who simply blinked. "What?"

"You go to the girl," Morrison pointed at her. "You know her, don't you?"

Ritchie turned his attention to Misty. Even from the distance he spotted that the redhead had a frown on her face, and a pursed lip. Misty was in a bad mood, and like everybody who knew her, Ritchie knew it was a bad idea to talk to her when she was mad.

"I can't," he said. "It's not safe."

Facing an enraged Tyranitar was much better for his health.

"Aw man," Stephan rubbed his forehead. "I can't believe one of us is scared to go to talk to a girl!"

"Not cool at all," Morrison folded his arms. "You need to have some spine, dude. How can you call yourself a man?"

They could insult all they want, but he would _not_ do it.

Meanwhile Cameron performed his infamous headband stretch to get his brain into working condition. "I know," Cameron had a coy smile. "Ritchie has a crush on her."

"What?" Ritchie exclaimed at the ridiculous assumption.

"Aha!" Stephan snapped his fingers. He slapped Ritchie on his back that was already sore from the slaps in the sauna. "A guy should never hide his feelings!"

Despite Ritchie's efforts to escape in vain, Morrison and Stephan caught him by his shoulders and dragged him all the way towards the redhead.

"NO!"

* * *

Misty was mildly surprised when Ritchie abruptly landed in front of her, without any prior explanations at all.

"Ritchie?" She was surprised, and found three more behind him. She identified all three of them as Ash's friends. She wanted to make a sour face, but they had nothing to do with what was going between him and her. So she faked a smile.

"Hey," Ritchie said getting up to his feet. He dusted his pant and his hat before wearing it.

"Hi," she said.

There was some silence for some time. Ritchie gave her an uncomfortable chuckle. He turned back, but the three men gave him a strange glare. For a moment, she thought they were his bullies. But then, the concept of bullies seemed ridiculous to her, especially because they were all sixteen.

"Well," Ritchie scratched his hair as Misty impatiently watched. "Misty, you look beautiful today."

* * *

He said it.

He said it. He said it.

He said it. He said it. He said it.

Ritchie wanted to smash his head against the wall. He wanted to jump under a truck. He wanted to dive into the ocean and drown. He wanted to put a hole in the imaginary ship he sailed on.

He had absolutely no intention of telling something like that. But his friends misunderstood him and threw them in front of her. He could have cleared the misunderstanding by telling them he didn't like her that way. But that would piss Misty off. He could have walked away with just a hi, but his friends didn't allow him to do so. And so, he did the only thing he was left to do.

Misty, to his surprise didn't get angry. She was surprised by his comment. In fact so surprised that her hands unconsciously moved towards her face. "I," she blushed. "Thanks," she gave him an uncomfortable smile.

* * *

To a woman who was suffering from constant inferiority complex thanks to a certain raven-haired boy, Ritchie jumping in and suddenly complementing her out of the blue was more than awe-striking.

She always tried to avoid doing feminine actions as she grew up watching her sisters doing it all the time and was disgusted by them. But she was one of the sensational sisters, and there was a lot of girlishness inside her even if she wanted to hide it. Of course it made her feel disgusted at herself.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I, uh…"

"It's okay," she said. "I have to go." She walked past the shocked Ritchie. At that moment, Misty was embarrassed enough to disappear from the face of earth.

"I'm going to kill you Ash Ketchum," she muttered. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have reacted like that at all.

* * *

Ritchie's jaws were wide open like a Feraligatr's.

Did Misty Waterflower blush at his comment? He expected a slap on the face, or in the worst case, a kick in the groin. Instead, she blushed.

Even Stephan, Morrison and Cameron were awestruck. "T-That was…" Stephan trailed off.

"A positive response," Cameron said, as if it were a monumental achievement. "She likes Ritchie!"

"You oaf!" Stephan slapped Ritchie on the back, much to the trainer's agony. "She likes you!

Ritchie knew it was a misunderstanding. But there was no way the people around him would be accepting that.

"Guys," Cameron said. "Let's celebrate this moment today. We'll camp outside in my tent."

"That's a great idea," Morrison's face brightened. "I'm going to bring some snacks and drinks."

"Yeah," Stephan exclaimed. "Ash can't join us because of his match. But this is Ritchie's day!"

"Yay!" Cameron jumped. "And guess what? Today's when they light the fireworks!"

According to the official PWT catalogue, every Tuesday was declared as the fireworks day. Beginning from twelve in the night, the fireworks will last for around ten minutes. They'll be fired in each of the stadiums of the five regions simultaneously.

As the rest of the three have immersed deep into their plans for the night, Ritchie couldn't help but feel bad for himself.

He had no say in it after all.

* * *

**In the Rose-Red region…**

"Four more hours till the fireworks," Harvey said as he checked his watch. "Although," he turned to face his two guests. "I believe that's not the reason we're here to talk about."

The blonde Cynthia put a dissatisfied face. Goodsho, who also wore a similar expression, shook his head. They were all in Harvey's office in the PLA HQ.

"Cynthia told me something of importance today," Goodsho said.

Harvey looked at the blonde at this. The champion maintained her frown. Harvey turned to the old man, "We have a match with fifteen thousand tickets sold out in just fifteen minutes, tomorrow. We have an incredible display of fireworks, in four hours. We have seven important opening matches and eighty hundred and forty eight important guests to deal with. I don't see anything else that's important right now."

"You have a clever of speaking Harvey," Goodsho said. "But I am actually serious about it."

"You've tampered with the matchups to pit Ash against Tobias," Cynthia said, "It'd turn into a serious matter if it gets out."

"_If _it gets out," Harvey repeated. "And pray tell me how people will see the difference between a random selection and a selection."

"It's ethically wrong," Cynthia argued.

"_If _I am partial to a particular player," Harvey said. "I'm not. I'm just putting interesting matchups."

"We still consider it a wrong thing to do," Goodsho spoke this time, giving Harvey a clear message that he was dissatisfied as well.

Harvey took a deep breath. "Fifteen thousand tickets," he said to the old man and then turned to Cynthia. "Fifteen minutes. For a tier 7 battle. We are flourishing and no one is harmed."

"Mr. Harvey," Goodsho suddenly stood up. His face was red, filled with anger. "This is a sport. Not a business."

"Tell that to your board members who have invested millions into your project," Harvey said, raising his voice equally. "Tell that to Giovanni. He'll be really glad to hear you. He might even hug you for a change."

Goodsho looked at Harvey, disgusted. "I know I shouldn't have trusted you."

"If you hadn't," Harvey argued. "You'd be hosting a long tournament with empty stadiums. People will wait and wait till an interesting match comes. By the time you get one, half your audience will be gone!"

Goodsho remained silent. Harvey's words were slowly getting to him. But it wasn't just Harvey who noticed this. "He's manipulating you," the Champion warned.

Harvey rolled his eyes. He spread his arms, "I can't be more transparent. I was honest with you, Cynthia. I told you even when I didn't had any need to. Because I trust you, and I trust that what I am doing is not wrong."

Cynthia looked away from his eyes, unwilling to give him a response.

"I appreciate what you're doing," Goodsho spoke after a long silence. "But, from now on I'll handle the matchups."

Harvey wanted to argue, but knew there was no way he could. The good part was that the old man didn't sack him abruptly. "Alright," he sighed. "But if this tournament turns into utter shit," he added as a warning. "Don't blame me."

* * *

**Ever Grande, the PLA guest house.**

"To, what do I owe this honor?" The burly man wearing a blue Hawaii shirt asked. The man sitting before him was stern, and carried a deep frown on his face.

"I'm here to talk about that match with Benga," the Pyramid King, Brandon said with a commanding voice that was contrastingly soft at that moment.

"Oh," Scott was surprised. "Look, Brandon, you don't need to give me any—"

"I don't need to," Brandon cut him off. He spoke like a dutiful soldier, "But I have to."

Scott shook his head and smiled. He knew the kind of person Brandon was. He didn't like owing anything to anyone. It was true Brandon losing to Benga so easily was an embarrassment to Scott's frontier. But it was just an unfortunate event.

"The truth was," Brandon took a deep breath. "I felt insulted by the position I was given in the battle. My battle spirit was crushed the moment I was given the chance to fight."

"It was my fault," Scott smiled weakly. "I should've consulted you first. That man Harvey was too compelling."

"I take your apology," he smiled. "But," the frowned returned to his face, "What's more disturbing was Benga's battle style."

"I know," Scott nodded, "Reckless and extremely offensive."

"He doesn't make even an ounce of a thought," Brandon said. "He's like a brutal animal with just intent to kill the prey."

Scott knew this. Brandon's Regirock was by far, the most defensive Pokémon in the entire tournament. If something like that couldn't stand up against that Garchomp for more than three rounds of moves, then nothing else can.

"I'm uncomfortable with the kid's style," the frontier brain said. "If he continues that, one of his Pokémon will pay for him severely. Just like his grandfather."

The mention of the Unovan Champion reminded Scott of the bitter incident he faced in the last Champion's League. Alder's battle style was more like Benga's back then. The old man paid for it dearly when one of his Pokémon's brutal head on attacks misfired and ended up killing it.

"We need to have a word with his grandfather," Scott said.

* * *

**Silver Region…**

The intense training session between Max, May and Norman finally ended at eight, when Norman decided it was time to give Max's Pokémon a rest for the next day.

"Okay," May said as she tucked all her Pokéball in the correct order. "I'm more than tired. I'll need some dinner to heal me."

"Glutton," Max teased.

"Shut up nerd," May retorted. "Don't get cocky because your secret weapon beat my Blaziken. I bet something like Ash's Charizard will beat it."

"If Max uses it well," Norman said confidently, "It could even defeat Darkrai."

'_If'_, May didn't say aloud. She didn't want to be a halting stop for her father's overriding optimism.

"So," May said as she prepared to leave, "Mom's coming tomorrow?"

"To cheer her prodigy," Norman patted his son, "Yes."

"Prodigy," May rolled her eyes, teasing Max who stuck his tongue out in reply.

May smiled at this. "Let's meet tomorrow then," she said, extending a hand for Max.

Delighted that his sister had finally acknowledged him as her equal, Max moved forward to shake his hands with her. Except May moved her hand swiftly and hit him on the nose with the flick of her finger. "Not in the next ten years."

"Ow," Max held his nose. "I'm going to get you for that."

May stuck her tongue at this and ran away as their father chuckled.

As she headed out of the net, she bumped into three men. "Sorry," she apologized at first, but when she noticed them, "Oh, it's you guys." One was the tall Harrison; the second was the brown-haired Tyson and lastly the blue-haired Vincent, the guy with an enormous Venusaur.

"Hay May," Tyson greeted. "We were actually searching for you."

"Me?" May asked. Why would they search for her?

"Drew told you were here," Vincent said before inwardly clicking his tongue.

Drew? How did Drew knew she was here? If he did, why didn't he meet her? "Ah," she nodded, putting the questions for later. "So what can I do?"

"Actually it's simple," Tyson said. "Just tell Ash best of luck on our behalf. Tell him we'll be rooting for him tomorrow."

The tall guy Harrison simply smiled. They weren't acquainted. "Okay," she said, a small smile on her face. "I'll make sure Ash gets his message."

When she left the three, her thoughts shifted to Drew again. If Drew knew she was here, why didn't he talk to her? Maybe because she was with her father, she realized. Her father even suspected Ash. Somehow it made her smile.

"Ash will never hit on a girl," she chuckled to herself. Drew on the other hand…

* * *

**Vertress Region…**

Two hyper blonde men were frantically exclaiming at each other in the Vertress Region. This of course, shouldn't be confused with some kind of argument. The hyper blondes were in fact battling each other in the training nets.

One was the son, Barry. The second was the father, Palmer.

"Empoleon," Barry snapped his fingers, excitement flowed in his veins instead of blood. "Drill Peck!"

The father was equally pumped, "Dragonite," he mimicked a boxer. "Use Dragon Rush!"

The Emperor Pokémon twisted about itself with a speed akin to a grinder. The Pokémon's beak acted like a sharp drill that was meant to pierce the opponent. The heavy weight dragon on the other hand shrouded itself in a blue dragon-like aura and attacked the incoming penguin.

The attacks collided with a big bang, and the ensuing smoke covered the entire field. The Emperor Pokémon was hurled out of the smoke, but it managed to balance itself to a steady position before it landed on the ground. The Dragon, on the other hand landed perfectly, it carried a heavy smirk on its face.

"You're cool Dad," Barry jumped, "Just like always. Now let's practice more and more!"

Palmer laughed heartily, proud of his son's battle spirit. "That's good and all, but we need some rest."

Barry's shoulders slumped at this, disappointed. "Aw, man." He scratched his hair, "I guess you're right."

They were training for four hours already. Barry was feeling exhausted, but it didn't matter as some of his Pokémon weren't. Either Pokémon heaved a sigh in relief and sat down in their places. Palmer took a seat on the stands nearby. He took a bottle of water and sipped it slowly.

"I've been meaning to ask," Barry said, as he settled down beside his father. "How did you lose to that Darkrai? You're supposed to be the unbeatable Palmer."

"Yeah I know," Palmer sighed. His son should know he wasn't invincible by now. Barry had in fact surpassed his father himself. But the boy still clung to the fact that his father was unbeatable. It was funny how naïve his sixteen year old son was. "Well, I made a tactical error."

"Tactical error?" Barry asked.

"The whole battle," Palmer said, folding his arms. "I've been trying to attack Darkrai from long range, expecting that it was dangerous to attack it from up close."

"But you were wrong?" Barry guessed. "If you had used extreme speed from the start—"

"I wouldn't guarantee that I'd have won," he said. "But Darkrai seems like it's more dangerous at a close range, although it's just the opposite."

So, if Ash wants to win against Darkrai, he needs something that can hit with good speed. But even his Sceptile's Quick Attack back in the Sinnoh League and Dragonite's Extremespeed were dodged with ease. They had to find a way to deal with Darkrai's battle intuition.

"I wonder how he's going to do that," Barry wondered. "I guess we'll know tomorrow morning."

* * *

**Later that night…**

Gary couldn't sleep well that night. His mind was being constantly boggled with the same question: What the heck was he going to in his date with Misty tomorrow? She obviously announced the date so that she could take revenge on Ash, but the shrimp was far from noticing it.

He didn't like to be the object of her revenge with Ash. They were good friends, and her reasons for getting mad at Ash could be explained only by terrible luck on his part. He had to make up their friendship again. But first, he had to cancel his date with Misty.

He looked at the clock, the time was 11:45 PM. Yes, it was too early for him to sleep. But he had to get up early to receive his grandfather in the airport. Apparently, the old Professor was planning to pay his visit.

He shifted his position and found Ash's bed empty, much to his surprise.

"He must have gone to watch the stars again," Brock mumbled. Apparently, he wasn't the only one not asleep.

"I guess," Gary muttered. Yeah, he always did that before an important league match.

* * *

Dawn got up around at the same time. She tried going to sleep but she couldn't. She was more than excited for Ash's rematch against Tobias. Tomorrow would be a test to all the incredible hard work he had done in the whole year.

She prepared her pink cheerleader dress, along with the other accessories that came with it. She'd make sure Ash would have all the moral support he needed.

An idea crossed her mind all of sudden. She knew how Ash always liked to gaze the stars before a big match to inspire himself. Maybe she could spend some time with him and boost his confidence. It was a fair thing to do, consider how he always cheered for her back in Sinnoh.

She looked around and noticed the rest three girls were all asleep, and covered in their sheets. She silently giggled to itself as she placed a pillow underneath hers. Nobody would know she was gone even if they were to get up. If they catch her while she was going out or coming in, she'd simply say she needed some water and the bottle in the room was empty. But to make her story solid, she needed to empty it.

She walked towards the bottle that lay on the table. To her luck, it was indeed empty. She pumped her fists without making much noise before taking the empty bottle with her.

Knowing Ash, the perfect spot would be the clearing by the lake. She walked from the hotel's porch to the way that led to the lake. She looked back because she wanted to make sure no one else was following her. After making sure no one was behind her back, she moved from the pathway into the line of trees, to make sure she wasn't spotted by anyone else who happened to watch her go in that direction.

She crossed the line of trees and finally found her way towards the clearing that stood before the lake. Much to her happiness, the raven-haired boy was indeed sitting by the water body, his Pikachu by his side.

She prepared to take a step out of the bushes when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulders.

Dawn was terrified by the sudden presence, she opened her mouth to scream, but a hand covered her lips, and a familiar long-haired girl shushed her into silence.

"Iris," Dawn muttered, taking a deep breath to calm her heart beat.

There was a devious smirk on her face, "What are you doing here?" The dragon trainer asked.

Dawn's eyes immediately went for the bottle, but she then realized it wouldn't exactly work as a reason over here. Iris rolled her eyes when she saw the bottle. "Zoey and the others wanted me to wish Ash some good luck," Dawn said as her last line of defense.

"Aw," Iris pinched her cheek as if she was a cute little baby. "You deserve extra points for innocence."

Dawn sighed. There was no convincing Iris. Even if she liked it or not, she was part of the so-called who loves Ash the most race and now had an extra point.

"Guess who else is here," Iris said, pointing to a distant tree.

Dawn's eyes widened in surprise when she identified a redhead among the trees. The two girls then slowly snuck their way towards Misty. The redhead who saw them approach from a distance groaned.

"So you tucked your pillow underneath the blanket too?" Dawn asked, realizing how unoriginal and still workable, the idea was.

Misty pursed her lips. "Okay, I know I hate him right now," she muttered, "But I know how badly he wants to win tomorrow. I simply didn't want to be the reason for him to lose."

Iris raised her eyebrows. "I didn't ask."

"You were going to," Misty hissed.

"So," Iris said. "I was planning on attacking first. But since all three of us had dared to come this far, we need to decide who goes, because only one of us can go right now."

As Iris spoke, both Misty and Dawn turned in Ash's direction. They froze immediately.

"We may not need to worry about that," Misty muttered.

* * *

**A few seconds ago…**

Ash lay on the green carpet of nature, feeling the cool breeze as he enjoyed the still, silent night and the starry sky.

"It's beautiful," he said, watching the glittering stars that reminded him of the badges he worked hard to collect. They were symbols of his progress and achievement.

"Pikachu," the rodent muttered, as it lay in a similar pose beside the trainer.

"Watching this," he said to the rodent. "Reminds me of all those times we did this."

"Pika, Pika," the rodent agreed. Ash turned to the Pokémon and brushed its yellow fur.

"Onix to Garbodor," he said, "You and the others always stood by my side. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be half the trainer I am."

Tomorrow, he was going to face Tobias, the strongest opponent he had ever faced in his life. He and his Pokémon need to surpass the standards they set for themselves to defeat him. He was confident that his Pokémon could pull that feat off. It's just that, somewhere in the depths of his heart, there was some kind of fear that could have stemmed from his previous showdown.

"Pi," the rodent's ears wobbled when it heard something.

"What is it?" He asked, turning behind, and found—

A brunette was standing behind him, a sheepish smile on her face. "May?" The raven-haired trainer was mildly surprised.

"I'm sorry to disturb," she said. "But I just wanted to have a talk with you."

Ash smiled at that, "It's okay," he said, smiling to invite her to his little paradise.

The brunette took the invitation and settled down beside him. Her sapphire eyes shone in happiness for some reason, he didn't know. "Tomorrow's your big day," she said as she sat down. "But I can't come and watch your battle."

"I know," he said, "You need to support Max."

May took a deep breath and looked at the sky. "To be honest," she said as she watched them. "I am nervous myself."

Ash barely remembered Gary mentioning about her getting some tough opponent. "Who are you facing on 3rd?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes at this and then sighed, "You must be too nervous with your own matchup."

Ash wasn't exactly nervous. He never liked to say that he was nervous. There was a sort of pride in him that told him he never felt nervous. But the slight insecurity in his heart, maybe it could be nervousness.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't notice anyone else's matchup. So," he faced the brunette who was still looking at the stars. "Who is it?"

May curled herself, bringing her chin in contact with her knees. She looked at Ash and said, "Wallace."

Her nervousness made sense, the raven-haired thought. She obviously didn't join the tournament with hopes to win. If it were anyone else, she probably wouldn't care. But it was Wallace. A match with him will also be a test to her coordinator skills.

He closed his eyes and shifted his gaze to the serene lake. "I see," he said.

"How do you think you'll do tomorrow?" May asked.

The trainer smiled at this. "I'm trying to not think about that. I don't like doubting myself."

"You know what," she said, mimicking his action and looked at the reflection of the stars in the water. "I think you'll win tomorrow."

Ash studied the brunette. Her eyes told him she was telling the truth, and not lying to encourage him. "Ever since the day we met," she said, "I always saw you as a confident trainer. You never had doubts of your victory." Her eyes told him they were looking into the past, replaying the journey they had. "No matter what stood before you, you didn't run away. You're brave…" she paused, her face was slightly flushed. "You were my inspiration. You're one of the three men who influenced my life as a trainer." She didn't mention who the other two was.

He opened his mouth to say something. "And," she spoke again, "Seeing you after one year of training with your dad. I realized," she said looking him in the eye, "You're a lot more confident, maybe because you're a lot stronger and you look…" she smiled to herself as she spoke, "A lot more matured."

"M-Mature?"

People around him always liked to call him a kid or a brat. It was perhaps for the first time that he heard someone call him mature. Ash smiled, "Thank you, May," he said softly. He rose up to his feet, and put his hat back on. "Those words meant a lot for me."

Yes, he had a year of training and five years of league experience behind him. He and his Pokémon passed many hurdles to reach the point he was in at the moment, and they were willing to go further up towards the goal.

"I will win. I won't have any doubts," he clenched his fists. "I will win against Tobias, and I'm going to be…" he said with a smirk that only widened, "The very best…"

"Like no one ever was," May added, smiling back at the rejuvenated trainer.

A whistling sound caught their attention. The sky suddenly exploded with a beautiful starry light, and the shape of a Darkrai was created by the sparks that came from the boom.

"The fireworks," Ash muttered as more and more of the fireworks continued to color the dark sky with glittering light. The second shape was that of a Pikachu, then a Latios, and after that a Metagross and a Milotic facing each other.

"Wow," May jumped when she saw that. It was meant to foreshadow a possible face-off between Steven and Wallace, Ash realized. Although, May's reaction must have come from seeing the Milotic.

* * *

"I couldn't have said it better," Misty said, a smile on her face as the girls walked back.

"I couldn't hear much," Dawn said, "How did you hear them?"

"Misty has Ekans ears," Iris said, "But I saw the smile on his face," she said dreamily. "Yeah, tomorrow will be great."

"I'm going to cheer Ash," Dawn said, brushing her hair. "And make sure he does his best."

"You might go for the scanty clothing to boost him up," Iris ran her fingers through her now smooth hair. "But I will do it with my special drums."

"Drums?" Misty caught her head. "Tomorrow's going to be a disaster for my ears."

* * *

**After two chapters of no battles, we'll jump into a series of battle-filled chapters.**

**Next Chapter!**

**Ash Ketchum and Tobias face off after two years of gap. Ash is more than determined and confident that he could win against the legendary user.**

**In the BETA story, Max faces off against Green Randall. Max is an inexperienced trainer who never participated in a league match. But still, he's confident as he has a trump card to beat his opponents.**

**Green Randall is a former Unova League winner whose specialty lay in the speed department. What kind of threat does he serve to Ash?**

**More upcoming matches!**

**May versus Wallace.**

**How will the Princess of Hoenn face the Water Maestro who is said to paint as good with his Pokémon's attacks as Picasso with his brush? **

**Paul versus Ash Jr.**

**Who is Ash Jr., what is his real name?**

**Gary versus Joey! **

**The ever confident Gary receives a nasty surprise in the form of a Dynamic Punch. **

**Stay tuned for more on Road to be a Pokémon Master.**

**Hit the Review button boys!**

**A bit of advertisement:**

**While working on my main story, I also have a few side projects. If you are interested in them, do click my profile and access them.**

**1) When I became a Pokémon Master: A story set in a completely different pace from this one. It is a bit dark and the main characters tend to show a bit of OOCness that was intended to be so.**

**2) Hikari…Shinji…Satoshi: An AU story, involving a love triangle between Dawn, Paul and Ash.**

**3) When Geass Twists Fate: A crossover between Fate/Stay Night and Code Geass that focuses on romance.**

**4) When Paranoia meets Fate: A F/SN fic in an AU world where magic doesn't exist.**


	16. Quick Attack and then Quick Attack!

**Aloha! Here's the new chapter to Road to be a Pokemon Master. Will this be another chapter of character build up? Or will the battle finally start?**

**16. Quick Attack and then more Quick Attack!**

**October 2****nd****, 2013**

**Time: 9:15 A.M**

There was a general uproar in the Lily of the Valley stadium. Anticipation spread like plague among the audience who had gathered in the fifteen thousand capacity arena. The stadium was filled in five minutes after the gates were opened.

A helicopter hovered above the circular stadium, as the cameraman took the video footage of the field from above.

The field maintenance team was busy ramming the field flat, and was marking the borders properly. Back in the control room, the operators were checking if the battlefield changing system was working properly. The system in Lily of the Valley operated on a different mechanism than the Rose-Red stadium. Trainers enter the field through a moving platform from underground rather than walk out through a gate.

The commentator, Freddy O'Martian was drinking a glass of water, as he prepared himself for the next few hours of shouting. The VIP boxes were filled with the champions, the favorites, the Elite Four and a few important board members.

A normal Tier 7 battle wouldn't gather such attention. But the man battling today, Tobias completely changed the situation. He was a complete enigma, and his battle style was shrouded in a dark mystery. His Pokémon were all legendary, which was also the cause for a huge controversy in the PLA. Very few knew about the background check the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia had done, and so many believed Tobias was just a fraud trainer who bought his Pokémon for a good price.

But the Sinnoh elite four who faced him knew better than that. They faced his power first hand, and fell to the mercy of his mysterious sixth Pokémon.

_"Good morning, my dear friends. It's time…"_ There was a dramatic pause. _"For the Pokémon World Tournament. Rosenburg Cup, Tier 7, Group C1 match to begin!"_

The crowd cheered in response. The whole stadium brimmed with excitement.

The sun was already blazing, the weather was perfectly clear for the upcoming showdown between Tobias and a trainer from Kanto who recently made some name.

_"Now, we welcome the participants of the battle."_

The ground below the lines that set boundaries for the trainer's box disappeared, as the whirring noise of the motor started. Soon, two figures appeared on either side of the field, thanks to the platforms that raised them onto ground level.

One was a greyish blue haired man, whose every action exhumed confidence and pride. The second was a high spirited young man, whose eyes carried a deep passion inside them. He was like a hungry Luxray that was ready to pounce on its prey.

_"Tobias and Ash Ketchum!"_

* * *

The crowd set an uproar one more time when our names were announced. But my ears ignored everything around me and my eyes were only one man, Tobias.

Tobias however had his eyes set on the crowd. He waved to the people who were cheering for the mysterious guy who could use legendary Pokémon. When he noticed my steady gaze, he dropped his hand and gave me a smile of acknowledgment.

_"These are the two participants of the most watched opening match. The red side: Tobias, the mysterious legendary Pokémon trainer!"_

At this Tobias, waved to the crowd one more time. Many people screamed the name 'Tobias' and a few 'Darkrai', but unless my ears weren't working properly, I even heard a 'Cheating Bastard' somewhere. Tobias on the other hand gave the same reaction to all cries, a smile.

_"And on the green side: Ash Ketchum, of Pallet Town!"_

At the announcement of my name, the crowd gave another buzz, albeit a smaller one. But of course there was something more.

"Ash, Ash do your best!" A female voice exclaimed. "Don't let that Tobias rest!"

I turned around to the source of the voice, a blunette in the frontlines. She was wearing a pink cheerleading uniform and accessories. Standing before her, was her Buneary who performed similar dance steps. But of course what surprised me more was the woman next to her.

*Dum* *Dum*

Iris drummed the two sticks in her hand against the cylindrical instrument that seems to have come straight from the Dragon Village. She colored her face with a yellow make up that reminds one of electricity.

So that was how she's going to cheer me, I smiled.

Sitting next to her was a redhead, who sat stiff as if she was glued to the chair. She may not announce it like Dawn or Iris, but I know Misty was there to support me. She's just too mad at me to admit it. When she realized I was smiling at her Misty's frown softened.

There was a gap left for three people after that, after which were Brock and Cilan who carried encouraging smiles.

"Ash!" A coarse voice yelled from some other direction. To my right, below the scoreboard were a group of four people who carried a large banner that read 'Go Win, Ash Ketchum!'. At first I thought it was some random fan, but then I realized that the four people holding the banner were my friends: Stephan, Ritchie, Cameron and Morrison.

Somewhere down, I saw Vincent, Harrison and Tyson who watched me with curiosity, and in the area behind Tobias, below the large monitor was Virgil and Bianca, who held each other as they waved to me.

Then there was Trip, taking a photograph of me as I looked into his camera. It seemed like he was waiting for me to turn in his direction.

There were more people I knew than I thought. I saw Palmer, Barry and a couple of other frontier brains from Sinnoh. Then I spotted the Kanto frontier brains including Brandon and Annabel…the latter for some reason sent me a flying kiss.

Of course there was one guy who caught my attention the most. Standing by the food stall, a purple-haired teen watched me, as he lazily rested against the railings.

_'Ash, get stronger.'_

Three words. Three words that fueled me to do my best. Three words that haunted me in my dreams and put me awake at nights. Three words for which I have strived to live up to.

I am finally here, Paul. I am here to prove how strong I have gotten in this one year. And just as a tribute to you, I am going to start my battle with the first Pokémon I've used against you in our first battle, and the first Pokémon that defeated you in a proper match.

Of course I had no way to say all that, so I simply smirked at him. Paul remained as expressionless as ever, perhaps he wanted to do the talking after I am done with Tobias.

_"Alright, folks! It's time we invite the good referee and start the battle!"_

* * *

**The VIP Box…**

The VIP box was filled with around forty of the world's talented battlers namely, the Champions, the Elite Four and the favorites.

"I'm interested to see how damn good the rumors about this Tobias guy are," the orange-headed Marshal, the fighting type elite four of Unova spoke.

"The rumors say he's good," Flint muttered. "And I'll tell you, they are true. Especially, the sixth Pokémon."

"Whatever the sixth one is," Veteran Clarke, the second most favorite muttered. "We won't see it today. This rookie can't beat more than two or three Pokémon."

"I wonder about that," the blonde Jason Valentine remarked. "I heard Ash's beaten two of Tobias's Pokémon two years ago. He might actually win."

"No offense to the top rated favorite," Lucian sad adjusting his glasses, "But you're out of your mind, Jason."

"You know what," a loud voice silenced the chatter altogether. Alder, the champion of Unova looked annoyed. "You guys are all hyping Tobias up. It's getting annoying."

"That's because we don't have enough data on his sixth Pokémon," the red-haired champion of Kanto, Lance spoke. "Today," he smirked, "Let's hope it changes."

* * *

**Meanwhile in the stands…**

"Where's Gary?" Dawn asked, when she realized one of their group members was missing.

Iris rubbed the sweat off her face that came from excessive drumming. The battle hadn't even started and she was already exhausted. "He's gone to bring his grandpa."

"Oh," Misty looked to her left, "So that's what these empty seats are for."

There were indeed three empty seats between Misty and Cilan, the blunette noticed. If two of them were for Gary and Prof. Oak, then who was the extra seat for?

At that moment, a hand tapped on her back. Dawn turned around and faced a familiar sweet smile. "Hey Dawn," the auburn-haired woman greeted. "I hope the battle hasn't started already."

"Mrs. Ketchum," Dawn was excited to see her. The two of them exchanged a brief smile before either of them raised their hands and gave a high-five.

It happened when they were in Pallet. Dawn told how she and Ash usually gave high-fives to each other. Apparently, she liked the idea and told Dawn to do the same every time they met. So the extra seat was for Ash's mom, Dawn deduced. But wouldn't that leave his dad? Or did he stay back in Kanto?

"Ah, a cheerleader uniform!" Suddenly a man emerged from behind the woman. "Delia, are you going to wear one too?"

"Ow," the man screamed not a moment later. Dawn realized, she must have stomped his foot.

"Mr. Ketchum," Dawn greeted. "Nice to meet you again."

The man gave her a goofy grin, and then waved to the other two girls behind. "Looks like all of Ash's girls are lined up for the show. Oh, one's missing."

"Alex," another voice yelled from behind. "Can you put the chit-chat for later?"

It was Professor Oak. He must have been tired from the journey because he looked snappier than usual. "Aye, Aye old man," Mr. Ketchum said. Dawn moved aside, letting the three pass through.

"Where did Gary go?" Iris asked, as Professor Oak passed by her.

The old professor said, "Alex wasn't supposed to come today. He just popped in the last minute." He scratched his chin, "Gary will find a seat somewhere else."

The blunette couldn't help but feel bad for the brown-haired. She wondered how he was going to find a seat in a jam-packed stadium.

* * *

_"Now before the referee comes, let's have a moment of the past. These two trainers in the field are not fighting each other for the first time. Take a look at the screen people."_

The screen behind me and Tobias flashed with the visuals of the battle we had in the real Lily of the Valley.

_"Two years ago Ash Ketchum faced Tobias in the Lily of the Valley Conference, 2011."_

In the video, my Heracross was charging at Tobias's Darkrai. The Darkrai replied to it with Dark Void and put the bug Pokémon to sleep. I ordered Sleep Talk, which brought out Megahorn to my luck. But it only proved futile when Darkrai defeated Heracross with a single Dream Eater.

I clenched my fists at this. That battle was unfair. Darkrai was too strong for my Pokémon.

I continued to watch as Sceptile bravely slashed Darkrai with Leaf Blade and defeated it.

_"Ash Ketchum was the only trainer in the entirety of Tobias's Sinnoh League challenge, right from the battle with the gym leaders till the final battle that brought him the cup, to have ever defeated Darkrai."_

The scene then shifted to Tobias' Latios finishing Sceptile with a Giga Impact and Swellow with Luster Purge in just one hit again.

_"Tobias revealed for the first time that he had more than just Darkrai. Latios, the eon Pokémon proved just as challenging to Ash as Darkrai."_

Then it was Pikachu, who bravely fought till the end. He combined Volt Tackle and Iron Tail and used it to overpower Luster Purge.

_"The battle between Pikachu and Latios ended up in a draw. Ash Ketchum lost. But he was proud to be the first trainer who ever took down two of Tobias's Pokémon."_

"Pika," the rodent who stood beside me muttered something.

"I know Pikachu," I smiled. "I'm not just going to defeat one or two Pokémon. I'm going to defeat Tobias completely."

* * *

"Who the hell is the tournament organizer," Alex laughed. "He sure knows how to hype stuff."

Cilan was less than comfortable sitting beside Alexander Ketchum. He wasn't fond of his jokes that usually involved disrespecting women, and not to mention he had an intimidating figure that made laughing a Herculean task for the sommelier.

"Yeah," Cilan said nervously.

_"And now, it seems the referee is ready!" _A man wearing a yellow shirt and a green short took his position at the referee's platform. He held two flags in hand. The one facing Tobias was red, while the one towards Ash was green_._

The crowd roared at this while Dawn and Iris began singing nonsensical rhymes to cheer Ash. Somewhere in the distance Cilan spotted Stephan, Cameron and a particularly loud mouthed stout guy shout Ash's name too.

* * *

The referee lifted both the flags, calming down the crowd at the same time.

"This battle between Tobias and Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is about to begin," his voice was as clear as crystal. "The format of the battle will be selected first."

At this, the scoreboard screen to my right showed four different logos.

_"To people who aren't acquainted with the rules. The battles in Tier7 will have three different formats. One, is a single six on six battle. The second is a doubles Six on Six battle. The third will be a mixed six on six battle."_

The four different logos had singles battle on two logos, and mixed on one logo, doubles on the fourth logo. So there was two in a four chance that this battle will be a single battle.

A blue light stood on one of the four logos. Then it began moving from one logo to the other at an incredible speed.

_"Which format will Tobias and Ash Ketchum battle in? Singles? Doubles or Mixed?"_

The blue light finally stopped and rested on the logo that said single battles.

_"It's decided! The battle will be a six on six, singles battle. Now it's time we hand over things to the referee again."_

The referee took it as his cue. "This will be a singles, six on six battle. Each trainer will be using six Pokémon that can be substituted one for the other whenever the trainer wishes to. The battle will end when all six of one side is unable to battle. If either side loses six Pokémon simultaneously, the battle shall be declared a draw and points will be equally distributed." He raised the red flag, "The red side will get to choose their Pokémon first." He raised either flags and crossed them. "Now, trainers send your Pokémon!"

_"It's started. Tobias will make the first call, my dear friends. What do you think will his choice of Pokémon be? Which legendary Pokémon is coming to feast our eyes?"_

Tobias smirked at me as he enlarged the Pokémon in his hand. He simply tossed the Pokéball into the stadium wordlessly, as if to add to the dramatic-ness.

The ball exploded, and a familiar dark Pokémon materialized out of it. The Pokémon that had spooky blue eyes, Darkrai, let out a simple grunt as its battle cry as it hovered in the air, well above the ground.

_"Tobias's choice of his Pokémon is as expected: Darkrai!"_

The presence of the dark legendary didn't earn a cheer of applause. Instead the stadium went silent in fear from just looking at the eerie Pokémon. I, on the other hand am used to it.

"Alright," my heart started beating faster. I took a deep breath and exhaled to calm it down, an action that earned me a worried glance from Pikachu. I took the Pokéball in my belt and enlarged it.

_"What will Ash Ketchum send against this legendary Pokémon?"_

* * *

**POV: Omnipresent (only for battles). Readers are required to adjust accordingly. **

"I wonder what Ash is going to use," Dawn exclaimed, as she jumped.

Cilan had a good guess. "It must be his vintage partner, Pikachu," Cilan said. "He always likes to use Pikachu as his first in important battles, remember?"

"I agree," Iris said, drumming at the same time. "It's going to be Pikachu."

"Except," Brock smiled for some reason. "Pikachu isn't on Ash's team today."

"What?!" Many people exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes," Brock nodded. "Ash traded Pikachu to the ranch. It's under my ownership right now."

"Then in that case," Dawn said, "He's going to repeat his original choice and use Heracross."

"That could be possible," Brock nodded, scratching his chin. "But I personally think it will be Sceptile. He defeated Darkrai last time. Sending the Pokémon that defeated Darkrai once will be a boost to his morale."

"What do you think, honey?" Delia asked her husband, who simply smiled at all the speculations. She suspected he knew something the others don't.

"You must have a good idea," Misty said, expecting an answer.

"On the contrary," he gave the Ketchum trademark goofy smile. "I don't have a clue." His answer caused everyone else to sweat drop.

"Let's put all of this silly speculation to a rest," he said wrapping his hands around Delia. "And enjoy the battle."

_"Here comes Ketchum's Pokémon!" _Ash already had the enlarged Pokéball in his hand.

His eyes narrowed, as a frown developed on his face. He lifted his hand as if he was pitching a baseball and tossed the ball into the sky. "I choose you—"

He exclaimed, "Staraptor!"

The Pokéball exploded, and the hawk-like Pokémon materialized through it. As soon as it took shape, the Pokémon glared with its red intimidating eyes into the dark Pokémon's spooky blue eyes. It stretched its wings and let out a fierce battle cry that earned cheers from the crowd.

_"What an unusual choice! Ash Ketchum's first choice is Staraptor! The Pokémon definitely shares its trainer's confidence friends, because both of them are burning with a hot fighting spirit! It's better if you buy the Rocket Soda's while you are it or else you will be thirsty throughout the match!"_

"Worst advertisement ever," Iris sighed.

On the field, Staraptor hovered high in the sky, while continuing to give Darkrai a sharp glare. Darkrai on the other hand looked calm and maintained a steady glance.

The scoreboard in the center lit up. Both Tobias and Ash had six empty slots on each side. The board was then updated, suiting the choice of Pokémon each trainer made.

**Scoreboard**

**(1-6)Ash Ketchum - Tobias (1-6)**

**Staraptor** - **Darkrai**

(**A/N: The numbers beside the trainer's name indicate, number of Pokémon revealed and number of Pokémon that are still able to battle, respectively. If a Pokémon is active on the field, its name will be bold. If it's still in the battle, but not active it will simply be italicized. If the name isn't italicized or bold, it's unable to battle.)**

"Staraptor, huh," Alex eyed the bird with interest.

"Why not Sceptile?" Iris asked. "It's much faster isn't it?"

"Staraptor might be slower," Brock explained. "But Ash trained it to handle Pokémon that are much faster than itself. I bet he has a plan."

The referee raised both his flags at once. "Darkrai versus Staraptor, let the battle begin!"

_"It's time friends, for this exciting match to begin! What will the first moves be?!"_

"Staraptor," Ash was the first one to move. "Quick Attack!"

Staraptor followed its command and dove at the darkness Pokémon with a speed that would make a jet-plane go red in envy.

There was a smirk on Tobias's face. He had faced this situation more than once. His Darkrai dodged a Dragonite's Extremespeed the other day. A head on attack was always a foolish move to hit his Darkrai.

As if to agree with its trainer's views, Darkrai remained still and watched the Pokémon throw itself at the dark type.

As the bird Pokémon was about to tackle the legendary with the extremely fast move, Darkrai simply side-stepped, as if the speed Staraptor carried was just a joke.

Panic was seen in the eyes of everyone who supported Ash. It was a foolish move. Palmer's Dragonite faced similar fate and got hit by an Ice beam.

But for some reason, Ash Ketchum didn't look worried at all.

Staraptor rocketed at Darkrai, but the legendary Pokémon dodged it with ease, as if to say Staraptor's speed was only child's play to it. Normally, a Pokémon would be shocked when its fast move misses, but the Staraptor didn't. It simply flew past Darkrai and took off into the sky as if it didn't expect to hit Darkrai in the first place.

"What the!" Brock exclaimed, realizing what was happening.

* * *

Just as we thought! Darkrai simply side-stepped like it always did. If my predictions were correct, then the next move would be…

Tobias had a haughty smile on his lips, now that Staraptor's move had missed. "Darkrai," he commanded as Staraptor flew past it. "Ice Beam."

* * *

"Oh no!" Dawn cried. Staraptor was absolutely vulnerable as it was still in Ice Beam's range, and not to mention with its back to Darkrai.

The Darkness Pokémon created the icy energy between its hands, and prepared to shoot the beam at the vulnerable Staraptor. She expected the Ice Beam to hit the bird and do severe damage to the Pokémon but—

"Spin and dodge!"

As the Ice Beam went to maim the target, Staraptor tucked its wings and began spinning about itself, the motion caused the bird Pokémon to tilt from its original flight path. The Ice Beam simply went past Staraptor, without hitting the bird Pokémon.

"What the!" Tobias's face turned white in surprise.

The bird Pokémon immediately spread its wings and flew high into the air, away from any other move Darkrai could throw at it.

The crowd went wild at the stunt the bird pulled. _"What an incredible way to dodge the attack! Ash Ketchum has once again showed his incredible talent."_

"Amazing!" Dawn squealed. "I never thought he'd incorporate our spin tactic to bird Pokémon too!"

* * *

I know that was a moment of history for us, but we have no time to enjoy it. I have to en cash the surprise while I can.

"Staraptor," I snapped my fingers. "Use Quick Attack!"

Staraptor repeated the fast move again. It rocketed at the darkness Pokémon once more.

_"Another head on attack? What is Ketchum planning?!"_

* * *

"You may have dodged that one, but you won't this time." Tobias muttered under his breath, a smirk on his face. "Darkrai," he commanded. "Dark Pulse!"

As the rocket called Staraptor charged at Darkrai, the extremely powerful wave of darkness was shot at the bird. The attack and the bird approached each other at a speed that could easily be called suicide for the bird Pokémon.

"Bad Taste!" Cilan exclaimed. If the Dark Pulse were to hit at that speed, Staraptor would be a goner. But—

"Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded as the bird continued the seemingly suicidal move.

What happened next was something that knocked the breaths out of everyone. As Staraptor approached the Dark Pulse at an incredible pace, it disappeared all of a sudden, causing the attack to move though thin air.

Staraptor appeared right above the Dark Pulse. Darkrai realizing the target has moved, shifted the pulse of attack without stopping it in the process. But the bird disappeared again, and then appeared below the attack. The darkness Pokémon shifted its aim again, but Staraptor switched to the top once more.

Before the legendary could even understand what was happening, Staraptor struck the Pokémon on its face with the combined power of Quick Attack and Aerial Ace. The impact threw away the Pokémon to a great distance; it lost the focus it needed to perform the attack.

"Don't flinch," Tobias snarled. Staraptor was now on the ground, an easy target for him. "Dark Pulse!"

"I won't let you!" Ash exclaimed, "Quick Attack!"

As Darkrai collected the dark energy between its hands, Staraptor shot at the darkness Pokémon again, and struck it straight on the chest, knocking the Pokémon to a great distance again. The attack it had prepared had dissolved into thin air.

"One more time," Ash exclaimed as he had the advantage. "Quick Attack!"

The Darkness Pokémon was still reeling from the previous attack when a third Quick Attack came at it in quick succession. But—

"You won't this time," Tobias looked pissed. "Darkrai, grab hold of it."

As the bird rocketed for the third time, the darkness Pokémon used its two dark hands to catch the Pokémon's wings. The momentum pushed Darkrai back, but it successfully stopped the attack.

"Got you," Tobias smirked.

_"Ah! Staraptor has been caught my friends! Ash is neck deep in trouble."_

The bird tried wriggling its wings out of the Darkrai's grip, but the Pokémon's hold remained firm. Staraptor's fate seemed to have been sealed.

"Actually," the trainer smirked however, "I was counting on you to do that."

Tobias's face turned colors again.

Ash clenched his fists and yelled, "Close Combat!"

Before the legendary trainer even had a chance to react, the bird Pokémon curled its talons and smacked Darkrai hard on the torso that caused it to release the grip on one hand. Using its now free left wing, Staraptor smacked Darkrai on its chest, causing it to release the hold completely. Staraptor then pummeled Darkrai with either of its wings simultaneously, causing the Pokémon to flinch back in pain. Darkrai jumped back, in order to get away from Staraptor's smacks.

"Don't let it go!" Ash yelled.

As Darkrai jumped back, Staraptor landed on the ground and propelled itself at Darkrai and then it lifted its left leg to perform one last kick on Darkrai's face, which sent the Pokémon crashing back onto the walls behind.

_"What a barrage of moves! Tobias and Darkrai have been completely caught up in Ketchum's pace!"_

"This…" Alex's hands trembled in excitement. "This is damn freaking awesome!"

As Darkrai struggled to get up on its feet, Staraptor took into the air. Once it was at a safe distance, it looked into the sky, stretched its wings and gave a proud battle cry.

"He's on a roll today!" Iris said, drumming with excitement. "I love you, Staraptor!"

"That's an incredible offensive momentum," Brock said, turning to Alex. "It seems you have developed the head on attacking Ash likes into one-sided offense."

"Trust me," Alex said, folding his arms. "I didn't do much. But still," Alex's attention shifted to Darkrai. The Pokémon was back up. It glared at the bird Pokémon that had pummeled the legendary into oblivion. "That Darkrai is in a whole different league." Standing up after a super-effective Close Combat was no easy feat after all.

"It's a legendary Pokémon," Professor Oak muttered. "Ordinary Pokémon need a lot of tactics to win against it."

"No wonder Tobias doesn't command much," Misty said, agreeing with the Professor's views.

* * *

**The VIP Chambers…**

"That Staraptor scares me more," the bug trainer Aaron said, watching the bird Pokémon in interest.

"Is this the same trainer who lost three Pokémon to Darkrai pretty easily?" Lucian was admittedly, a bit surprised. "He's come a long way, if I might dare say."

"That's because Ash has the spirit to win," Flint smiled at the boy, who indeed looked like an embodiment of fighting spirit. "The will to win can take a person far."

"Ashton is good," Alder chuckled. "It's time you people realize Tobias is nothing but hype."

"Not so fast," Jason frowned. "The battle's just begun, Alder."

* * *

_"A combo of Quick Attack, Aerial Ace and Close Combat. Ash has used his Pokémon's amazing maneuverability to his advantage. Now what will this trainer do next? Which move will it be?"_

As far as I know, there's only one move I would start with. "Staraptor," I commanded. "Quick Attack!"

Staraptor dove at Darkrai for the umpteenth time. His moves seemed to have gotten sharper as his morale was up right now.

Tobias looked unhappy. Not because he was humiliated in the opening gambit, but because I was insulting him by using the same move again. If he were to fall for it one more time, his pride would be deeply wounded.

"Get closer and use Ice beam," was Tobias's reply to my move.

Darkrai used its ability to levitate and dashed towards Staraptor.

So that was Tobias's strategy. He knows letting Staraptor closer was a danger to him. Darkrai was more vulnerable in close combats than in long range fights. That's precisely why I've decided to use Staraptor over Sceptile, because Staraptor knows Close Combat.

"Staraptor," I responded to Tobias's move. "Combine Quick Attack with Aerial Ace and dodge!"

Darkrai was now in midair. It shot the ice beam at the flying Pokémon. But the bird dodged it with ease by flying out of the way. Darkrai didn't need its trainer's command to do what's next. It prepared another Ice Beam and attempted to hit Staraptor, but the bird dodged, albeit with slight difficulty.

Darkrai was fast, and the way it kept shifting its position made it extremely difficult for Staraptor to dodge the ice type move. But I believe in my Staraptor. He's good at what he does.

All I need to was to shift my attention to Darkrai and wait for a moment to attack.

* * *

Ash's focus shifted to Darkrai completely, Misty realized as she observed his gaze.

_"An incredible display of speed. Staraptor is playing around Darkrai's Ice Beam."_

Staraptor on the other hand was twisting and spinning its way past Ice beams that kept coming one after the other to freeze the Pokémon to death.

"What's he doing?" Dawn who observed the same asked.

"Observing," Alex muttered. The girls looked at Ash's father inquisitively. "Staraptor can't dodge the Ice Beam forever. So Ash's waiting for a moment to attack Darkrai first."

"Even if it's a legendary," Professor Oak analyzed. "It can't use Ice Beam persistently."

The pursuer always slacks first before the prey. It's a general principle. The prey has its life at stake and so will be extra vigilant. So, the attacker will be the one to relax first. Darkrai was pursuing Staraptor with Ice Beam while the bird was hanging onto dear life. So it's obvious that Darkrai would the first one to make a mistake.

The slip up did happen, pretty soon. As Staraptor ducked underneath an Ice Beam and prepared to dodge another of the ice beam, Darkrai's attack stopped momentarily, out of fatigue.

"Now!" Ash yelled.

The bird which has been using a single Aerial Ace to collect its momentum slowly used the chance to release all of it. It performed the last part of Aerial Ace, 'fly through the hoop and hit the target' after having spent a lot of time doing the first step while dodging Ice Beam.

Before the Darkrai could prepare another Ice Beam, the bird hit Darkrai square on the chest, pushing the Pokémon to the ground.

"Follow it up with Close Combat!"

Staraptor dove for the falling legendary and attempted to kick Darkrai. But the legendary Pokémon used its left hand to block the kick and pushed itself to the ground, out of Staraptor's reach. The Darkrai then prevented itself from a crash by landing on its dark legs.

Seeing the chance he got, Ash ordered the final move in his arsenal, "Brave Bird!"

Staraptor tucked its wings and lunged at Darkrai but—

"Darkrai," Tobias commanded. "Dark Void, now."

Realizing the danger he was in, Ash yelled. "Spin away!"

The Darkness Pokémon created a sphere of darkness at the attacking Staraptor that was yet to collect enough momentum for Brave Bird. The bird instead spun about itself and propelled itself away from the dark sphere.

Dodging the sphere, Staraptor swooped down to the ground thanks to the momentum the aborted Brave Bird gave it. "Quick Attack!" Ash yelled.

Spreading its wings, the bird Pokémon which was now close to the ground took the straight path towards Darkrai and shot for it. The scene seemed like a repeat of what happened before but—

"I knew you'll do that," Tobias grumbled. "Darkrai, Jump!"

"Dammit!" For the first time in the battle, Ash was genuinely surprised by the move.

* * *

That was the first mistake I made in the battle.

I expected Staraptor dash for Darkrai and hit the Pokémon successfully like it had done till now. But Tobias was smart enough to avoid that situation again.

The jump resulted in a confused Staraptor which was now below, closer to the ground, while Darkrai was above it, leaving the bird vulnerable to any of Darkrai's attacks.

Tobias who was till now deeply frustrated with the way the battle was going on, didn't waste the chance at all.

* * *

The crowd went silent as they saw what was about to happen. For the first time in the battle, Darkrai had advantage over the opponent in the battle.

"He should have known better than to use the same trick again and again," Alex muttered bitterly when he saw the scene.

"Darkrai," Tobias's smirk widened with happiness. "Let's finish this annoying battle once and for all, Dark Void!"

_"Staraptor is in a tight spot, is this it for Ketchum's Staraptor?!"_

The legendary Pokémon lifted its hands, shaping the dark sphere as it did so.

Dawn was particularly disappointed. Ash was having the control over the battle till now. His Pokémon kept dominating the entire time. But one mistake, one mistake changed everything. Tobias's Darkrai was extremely strong, and if it were to put Staraptor to sleep. The battle would end in one shot, and everything that Ash had struggled till now will be put to naught.

"As if," Ash gritted his teeth.

It was then the blunette noticed the spark in Ash's eyes. The spark Ash always carried when he was in a tight spot.

"Staraptor," the trainer yelled at the top of his lungs. "Use Close Combat—"

Dawn realized what Ash was going to do,

"—On the ground!"

The hawk which was still frozen in surprise snapped at the trainer's command. It faced the ground spread its wings and pummeled the soft ground as hard as it could.

Darkrai's hand moved down, and the sphere was released from its hold.

Three punches on the ground, Staraptor was pushed a bit away, and then it kicked the ground one last time with right leg, this time pushing it a few more inches away.

The Dark Void passed past the bird, barely failing to touch it. As the bird kicked itself into the air, it saw the Dark Void land where it once was.

_"WOW!"_

The congregation of humans who have come to watch the hawk roared in response when Staraptor pulled the stunt.

Staraptor watched the look of surprise in Darkrai's and it's trainer's eyes. A smile of victory was seen on the Pokémon's beak.

"STARAPTOR!" The Pokémon let out a jubilant cry to match with the crowd.

"Awesome job, buddy!" His trainer exclaimed. "Now's your chance," he clenched his fists and pumped them in the air. "Brave Bird!"

The bird didn't needed a second word. As the legendary Pokémon watched Staraptor helplessly, the hawk tucked its wings and lunged at Darkrai. Soon the Predator Pokémon was engulfed in fire, which changed into a blue blitzing aura as it spread its wings.

The bird that looked like an incarnation of phoenix at that moment, struck Darkrai with its strongest move. The resulting collision created an explosion that engulfed either Pokémon.

Staraptor emerged out of the dust caused by the explosion. A blue spark convulsed though its body, indicating the recoil from the Brave Bird. The bird Pokémon turned towards the ground and watched the dust clear.

Meanwhile on the stands, almost everyone who watched the scene were on their feet.

"That's my son," Alex clutched onto Cilan as tears rolled down on his face. Delia patted her husband.

"I must admit," Professor Oak looked proud. "I never thought he was this good."

A festive atmosphere filled the stadium at that moment. The crowd went wild when they saw Darkrai on the ground as the dust cleared off.

_"What an incredible turn of events do we have here. This is definitely a wonderful moment in the PWT, Rosenburg. I am glad to say that this is just the first match of the tourna—"_

The commentator's words were stopped. The stadium that was buzzing with excitement turned silent all of a sudden.

Tobias was the only one who carried a smile at that moment. "Did you forget how difficult it is to defeat my Darkrai," the man smirked. "Ash Ketchum."

* * *

I knew it.

I knew Darkrai was far from unable to battle. That's why the referee didn't react yet.

The darkness Pokémon which most people assumed to be unconscious was back in its standing position, albeit less composed than it was at the start of the battle.

Of course. The last time we battled, Darkrai took a guts boosted Megahorn from my Heracross. Even Sceptile defeated Darkrai only because he got a critical hit on the second leaf blade. That along with the damage from Gible's Rock Smash was the reason why we managed to defeat it last time.

This battle's far from over.

"We're still going to win, Tobias," I said, giving him my best glares. As if to agree with me, Staraptor gave out a sharp cry.

Tobias closed his eyes, a satisfactory smile on his face. "I should've known you'd turn out into an excellent trainer in two years. Your progress is remarkable." He looked at me and said, "It's time I take this battle seriously."

"I'm ready to take whatever you throw," I said, clenching my fists.

So, what was he going to do? Darkrai has revealed three of its moves, and the fourth was obviously Dream Eater. So, what exactly would Tobias's next move be?

My question was answered when Tobias took out his Pokéball.

"What's he planning?" I asked, no one in general.

"Pika," Pikachu muttered, clueless.

Tobias aimed his Pokéball at Darkrai. "Return, Darkrai."

A red light came out of the ball and sucked the Pokémon inside, much to my surprise.

"He's substituting?" I was honestly caught off guard by that move.

* * *

_"How incredible! Tobias has switched out Darkrai. Friends, this is the time I've ever seen Tobias switch out a Pokémon. Ash Ketchum deserves praise for that!"_

The people on the stands were as surprised as Ash. "I can't believe he switched out," Brock frowned. "I thought he was someone who took pride in his Pokémon and bulldoze through teams blindly."

"It means Tobias understands the gravity of the situation," Alex said, rubbing his chin.

"If the battle had continued," Dawn said, "Staraptor would have won, right?"

"Yes," Alex nodded. "Tobias knows better than that, I guess."

* * *

Phew.

I let out a deep sigh. The mental tension from continuously being on my toes was really getting to my brain. Sweat collected all over my body, even though the sun wasn't particularly hot. I decided to take the two seconds of break for putting my mind to a rest.

"This battle's really stressing," I muttered to Pikachu, who nodded in acknowledgment.

So far we did excellent. I have studied Darkrai's battle style and decided Staraptor was my best suit. It worked, and Staraptor dominated throughout the match. But whatever Tobias sends next, I don't have a clue as for how I should deal with it. I hope it isn't a Groudon like in my dreams.

_"Tobias is sending out his next Pokémon."_

The commentator's words brought my eyes back to the battle. The grey-haired man who resembled his icon Pokémon Darkrai extracted another Pokéball.

"So what is it next?" I muttered under my breath. Latios? Or some other new Pokémon?

Tobias was once again in his confident mode. "What you're about to see is a Pokémon I haven't used against you yet."

Great. So what's it going to be? Please don't be Groudon!

He clenched the Pokéball and smirked. "Humph," he grunted as he tossed the ball high into the air.

The flash of light struck out of the ball and materialized a lump of a figure on the ground. The flashy lump slowly transformed into a four-legged creature, with claws that looked longer than my fingers. The head was the last to materialize. Not only did it have two vicious projections that seemed to be its fangs, it had a huge cape that flowed over its head.

The flash disappeared and the Pokémon that shaped out of it let out a beastly roar that stopped my heart for a second. The Pokémon's roar was enough to send back even the brave Staraptor scurrying in fear.

The Pokémon's powerful body cackled with static electricity that ran all over its body. The Pokémon first glared at me and Pikachu with red eyes that had a sharp glint of ferociousness in them. When it finally took a notice of Staraptor, it gave the Pokémon a glare and let out a small growl.

The Pokémon was Raikou, the legendary beast of Thunder. Its body was completely yellow with black stripes that resembled electric sparks as if to signify its electric type. It had a grey crest on its forehead, its claws were sharp enough to dig into the ground with ease.

"Okay," I muttered under my breath. "T-That's bad."

* * *

_"I'm speechless! Tobias's second Pokémon is Raikou!"_

**Scoreboard**

**(1-6)Ash Ketchum - Tobias (2-6)**

**Staraptor** - _Darkrai_

xxxxxxxxx- **Raikou**

"Seriously?" Misty blinked. "A Raikou?!"

"Oh my god," Dawn looked at the ferocious beast, wide-eyed. "I don't know if any of my Pokémon could be brave enough to fight that."

"Agreed," Cilan nodded. "That Pokémon is sending me a shiver even from this distance. I don't know how Ash is even standing there."

"Where's my camera when I need it," Delia was rummaging through her purse. "I'm missing a beautiful shot." Alex couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Raikou huh," Professor Oak muttered as he looked at the sky rather than the Pokémon. "If my data is correct, we're about to—"

A power rumble caught everyone's attention. The sky which was perfectly clear till then suddenly turned dark as black clouds emerged out of nowhere.

"Thunder clouds!" Delia exclaimed as she took a picture of the sky. She finally found her camera. "They're so rare in Kanto."

"They're Raikou's?" Brock asked. Why would the sky suddenly be filled with thunderclouds otherwise.

"I guess," even Alex looked a bit spooked. "I don't know how my little boy is going to deal with this beast."

* * *

Have you ever stared at something with mouth so wide open that flies could go through? Well right now that's how I am staring at the wonder in front of me.

Raikou's beastly presence invited the thunderclouds in an otherwise perfect atmosphere. The thunderclouds, much like Raikou were filled with electricity that constantly created a rumbling noise. "What a monster," I muttered.

"Pika!" Even Pikachu was slightly terrified by Raikou.

_Rrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwr!_

Raikou let out another powerful roar that was intended to intimidate everyone around it. At the same time, the clouds rumbled and a lightning struck at the ground from the sky.

"Star!" Staraptor screamed as the thunder almost maimed the bird. The Pokémon was brave, but a lightning was something even the bravest birds were terrified of.

Just by standing there, Raikou had effectively put my Staraptor in danger.

Yeah, if this isn't a strong opponent, I am not sure what else would be. Somehow that fact pushed away the fear inside my heart.

"Alright," I smiled in excitement. "We're going to battle that super strong Raikou." My heart was trembling with exhilaration. "We're going to win, no matter what!"

**The first round of the battle between Ash and Tobias ended up in a tactical victory for Ash. But things turn more dangerous when Tobias sends his next Pokémon, Raikou. How will Ash battle Raikou? Will he be able to defeat it? Or will Raikou end up sweeping through half of Ash's team.**

**Next Chapter: Electrifying Raikou!**

**Scoreboard at end of chapter—**

**Scoreboard**

**(1-6)Ash Ketchum - Tobias (2-6)**

**Staraptor** - _Darkrai_

xxxxxxxxx- **Raikou**

**Ash: Pokemon revealed: 1, Pokemon left to battle: 6**

**Tobias: Pokemon revealed: 2. Pokemon left to battle: 6**


	17. Electrifying Raikou!

**Before we begin this chapter, I would like to introduce you to my Beta, TestSubject069. Most of you reading my fic might know him as the author of 'The Aura is with me' (I keep track of my reviewers :p). As much as I take pride on this story, I admit that my writing is far from excellent and if this were an original fiction and sent to a real publisher, it would be kicked back after five seconds of reading. However, there are few things I can cater for the Ash fans out here. The battles, the crazy Shippings name them. TestSubject069 has done an excellent job in turning this chapter from good to super-good (no, I don't have the right to use the word excellent on my own story.) While I've written the battle like every time, my dear Beta has colored it with beautiful words, making it ten times better than what I intended to write.**

**Thank you, TestSubject069. This is our first chapter together and I hope we make more of these wonderful chapters.**

**Here's to another update! Three cheers people. The exciting battle between Ash and Tobias Continues!**

**17. Electrifying Raikou!**

The battle till now: _The most awaited match between Tobias and Ash began with sending Darkrai and Staraptor as their respective first Pokémon. The first matchup surprisingly ended in a tactical victory for Ash as he forced Tobias to switch out. However, Tobias proves he's as formidable as ever when he sends out an extremely powerful looking Raikou. Now what will Ash do? _

The sky growled as the dark clouds cackled with electricity. The clouds swirled about the epicenter like the dark vortex I had seen in my dreams. Fifteen minutes passed since the battle began and it was still 9:45 in the morning. However, the whole stadium was swallowed in darkness, darkness brought down by the summoned clouds of the Beast of Thunder.

Raikou gnashed its teeth slowly and sent a resentful growl at both me and the bird that was ready to battle before it. Its eyes instilled fear into those who looked at it, a fear so intense I was rendered completely thoughtless.

The clouds rumbled once again and it seemed as if the sky itself had crashed. "Star!" Staraptor let out a frightful cry as it dodged a lightning that almost hit him. The bird was high up in the sky and the constant presence of Raikou's clouds endangered it.

_"Raikou's natural ability to summon lightning has cornered Staraptor completely! This brave bird was successful in putting Darkrai in the soup, but will it be able to overcome the type disadvantage and do the same to Raikou? What will Ash's next move be?"_

This one.

"Return, Staraptor!" The red light sucked the bird back to the Pokéball I had aimed at it.

_"Ash has opted for a Pokémon switch! It seems like he doesn't want to play the disadvantage handicap against a legendary Pokémon!"_

Tobias had a little smirk on his face. Although I initially knocked his confidence away with Staraptor, Raikou seemed to have replenished him. Let's see how long that could last.

* * *

"Good. Good. Good." Barry nodded his head fervently. "Staraptor wouldn't have stood a chance." Knowing Ash, he expected the raven-haired trainer to blindly continue with Staraptor. He wasn't as smart as Paul but he still made good decisions when it counted, Barry thought.

"Good thing he's being levelheaded," Palmer said, a frown on his face. "This Tobias guy is really a mess to deal with. Darkrai… Latios… Raikou…What the hell is next?"

Brandon who was sitting on the row below the Sinnoh Frontier Brain's heard this. "It's easy to lose your cool. If Ash does that, this battle can easily turn into a disaster." Raikou looked powerful enough to defeat any of Ash's Pokémon in a quick succession of moves and Ash would need a great deal of damage to put Raikou down. A feat like that was only possible with a mindset to maintain calm and chip away Raikou's health bit by bit.

"Of course he won't," Annabel was watching the raven-haired trainer intently. "Besides, if he'd lost his cool, he'd have lost it already. Ash will keep it together."

Brandon raised an eyebrow at this. Yes, that was true. Perhaps he needed to have more faith in the kid. He may be young, but Brandon recognized that Ash had what it takes to win. The desire to win, the tactical expertise to outwit the opponent, the courage to hold his own against an overwhelming force like Tobias... All Ash needed to do was to be patient.

* * *

"So," Dawn asked. "What will his next Pokémon be?" She tried predicting Ash's first choice earlier with either Heracross or Sceptile, but he ended up sending Staraptor. It wasn't she expected but it had done surprisingly well.

"Not a Pokémon with type advantage for sure," Alex replied. "Tobias's attitude suggests that he'd switch out his own Pokémon in a disadvantageous situation. Right now, Ash is gunning for a real win, not a tactical one."

A _real_ win? Dawn's attention shifted to the beast that now occupied the battlefield. Which of his Pokémon could be daring enough to take Raikou head on without a type advantage? And that beast looked invincible in her eyes. With just a simple glance one could tell that it was insanely strong.

Very few Pokémon have the raw strength to fight a Pokémon like that. What if things ended up the same way it did in the Sinnoh League? Would Ash be able to take such a loss? He was very confident yesterday and it's true that he had gotten a lot stronger since his last match with Tobias, but the difference between them was huge to begin with. She unconsciously held her chest. She was excited, yes, but she was also terrified at the prospect of what would happen next.

"A cheer leader shouldn't have negative thoughts," Alex said, surprising the girl. Was she being that obvious?

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling silly. "It's just that…" She paused. Oh that's right, she was supposed to cheer Ash here. She realized that brooding on discouraging thoughts was just wasting time. She had to believe that Ash could win and _would_ win.

"Alright Buneary," Dawn said pumping herself up along with her Pokémon. "Let's put more power into our cheering."

The brown rabbit hopped in agreement.

* * *

The buzz from the stands began to rise in anticipation from the Pokémon I would send next.

"Alright," I said, holding my second Pokéball high in the air—my answer to the monster Tobias commanded. The crowd seemed to resonate with my actions like they were on my side for some reason. Perhaps people don't like having to fight legendary Pokémon?

_"Ash's sending out his second Pokémon. Will it be another win for Ash, or was the first round just a lucky break?"_

"Infernape," I said tossing the ball. "I choose you!"

The flaming ape materialized out of the Pokéball. It raised its head proudly and bellowed a battle cry into the sky. It curled up its fists and stooped down, resting its body on four limbs like an ape. Its fiery mane burned magnificently, resembling the torch that was lit in the Rose-Red stadium.

_"Ash's answer for the electric type Raikou is Infernape!"_

**Scoreboard**

**(2-6)Ash Ketchum - Tobias (2-6)**

_Staraptor_ - _Darkrai_

**Infernape** - **Raikou**

Acknowledging Infernape's presence, Raikou gnashed its teeth again and gave out a trembling roar that literally sent tremors through the ground. Even Infernape took a step back in surprise—only a select few wouldn't have been intimidated after such a ferocious display.

"Infernape," I called for the fire-type's attention. "Raikou is a tough Pokémon, but I know you can handle this." Infernape nodded at this to assure me that he was fine. He had enough fighting spirit to go on, but—

"The reason I've chosen you is because," I said, as the Pokémon turned back to me again. "Back when you are a Chimchar, you faced all those dangerous Zangoose and fought bravely. Well," I said pointing at the beast in front of us. "That Raikou over there is just like that, right? Back then you were young and had no control over your abilities, but now you've evolved twice and _perfected_ Blaze. So," I said clenching my fists. "Infernape, you're my best Pokémon to win this."

My words seemed to have inspired the Pokémon, because Infernape curled its fists, turned around, and pounded its chest before letting out a battle cry. Raikou reacted to this, by stepping forward and gnashing its teeth threateningly.

_"Both Pokémon are raring to go, so without further ado let's start the battle!"_

The referee raised either flags, "Raikou versus Infernape, commence!"

Alright, we'll make the first move one more time. "Infernape, use Mach Punch!"

* * *

The martial arts Pokémon charged at the electric beast whilst the clouds in the sky continued to rumble. The Pokémon was swift, and instead of running all the way towards Raikou, it took long strides and paced towards the electric type at a speed no human could ever dream to achieve.

_"Infernape is fast! How will Raikou react to this swift move?"_

"Raikou," Tobias's haughty smile returned. "Dodge."

Infernape took one last jump before throwing a swift punch at the electric type. But in one amazing display of speed, Raikou took a quick leap back, avoiding the punch entirely by a long shot.

"Whoa," Iris gasped at the lightning fast reaction.

However Ash didn't let surprise get to him and waste time. "Keep going!" The trainer exclaimed.

Infernape's left fist this time glowed and it took another swift jump towards the electric type. The Pokémon's fist met with air as Raikou managed to duck underneath Infernape's punch. The fighting type didn't need another command from the trainer. It slugged the right fist at the Pokémon's face, but this time Raikou took a swift step back avoiding the attack with a narrow gap.

_"Raikou is blinding fast! Infernape's unable to strike Raikou!"_

"Then in that case," Ash gritted his teeth. "Infernape, Close Combat!"

The monkey's glowing Mach Punches stopped. Suddenly it jumped much closer to the beast and threw a melee of punches that made its Mach Punch pale in comparison.

The electric type was thrown off by the sudden change in speed. Raikou ducked the first left punch that came at its face, but then a second Punch came to hit its jaw on the right. The Pokémon managed to avoid it with a graze on its cheek, but the third punch then came immediately after and—

SMACK!

Infernape's third punch landed. The punch caused Raikou to reel its head back in reflex and—

SMACK!

Within no time, the ape landed a right uppercut on Raikou's jaw. When a Pokémon gets caught up in an opponent's Close Combat, getting out of the melee attack is more or less impossible. The only escape is presented when the attacker's assault comes to an end—if it ever does.

Complementing the his punch from the below, Infernape sent a punch from the right and—

SMACK!

The fifth punch landed on the legendary's white beard. The sixth punch followed immediately from the left afterwards, trying to burry Raikou's face into the ground, but—

Crunch!

The seventh punch never landed on Raikou's face. Instead, the fire type found its fist struck between the beast's powerful jaws that clamped it tightly like a vice.

_"What a surprise! Raikou managed to break the barrage of punches with its crushing jaws!"_

Ash's reaction was a mixture of surprise and worry. He didn't anticipate Raikou to break out of Close Combat. The legendary Pokémon was living up to its name.

Tobias smiled at this. "I suppose you were trying the same tactic you used with Staraptor," Tobias closed his eyes. "But Raikou is far different from Darkrai."

In response the beast lifted Infernape off the ground with the mere strength of its jaws. Then in a quick spinning motion, the great beast turned around with utmost ease, sending the fire type Pokémon flying back towards Ash's side.

"Infernape!" Ash exclaimed as the ape almost crashed on the ground. Thankfully the Pokémon used its right hand as an aid and flipped back on its feet. A smile crept across Ash's face, but it quickly turned into a frown when he saw Tobias move.

"Raikou," the legendary trainer commanded. "Thunder."

The Raikou let out a roar as electricity spread all over its body. Befitting of the Pokémon's title, the legendary Beast of Thunder then let out a huge amount of electricity that scorched the ground as they erupted out of the Pokémon's body. Then the lightning bolts shot towards the fire-type who watched the incoming attack apprehensively.

"Scary," Barry muttered. He had seen many Thunder attacks, but this one was exceptionally powerful. In fact was powerful enough to overpower the electricity in a thunderstorm.

"Yeah," his father nodded in agreement. "Not only does Raikou have exceptional speed, its power is quite a handful to deal with, too."

* * *

The lightning came towards Infernape at an alarming speed, charring the field black as it approached us. Type immunity or not, any Pokémon would certainly feel its power, so taking an attack like that was foolish.

But—

"Charge in, Infernape!"

Instead of running away from the beast that reined the chains of Thunder, Infernape charged towards the beast while avoiding the lightning bolts at the same time. A feat like that was possible only by a Pokémon whose movements were as flexible as any acrobat's, like Infernape.

_"Infernape charges in! Folks is this a suicidal move?"_

Infernape continued anyway. The ape dodged one strike that was supposed to hit by hopping over it like a skipping rope, and it dove to the right when a Thunder tried to hit it from the left. The electric attacks kept coming but the Pokémon continued to close down the distance towards Raikou. A tinge of surprise was seen on Tobias's face as Infernape continued to ape its way until it was only a few leaps away from hitting Raikou.

* * *

"Dodging Thunder like that," Lucian smiled as he watched the Infernape weave between the electric attacks. "It's quite impressive." He turned towards the afro red-haired man sitting beside him. "Reminds me of your Infernape when it fought Cynthia."

Flint chuckled, "An Infernape's ability to dodge depends on how much it enjoyed playing as a Chimchar." It was clear that Ash cared for his Pokémon and raised them with love.

"Ape instincts huh," Alder nodded. As a man who enjoyed nature himself, he was in agreement with Flint's observation. The Infernape's movements were natural and didn't seem forced by some kind of training or the other.

* * *

Raikou watched in frustration as Infernape found its way towards the legendary Pokémon. Obviously using Thunder was futile, the Pokémon realized. It was better to use its speed to its advantage and deal with physical attacks.

The Thunder stopped as Infernape closed further in. Noticing the chance, Ash decided to attack. "Infernape, use Mach Punch!"

Using the momentum from charging in, Infernape lunged at the beast and prepared its right fist for a powerful Mach Punch.

But the beast was quick enough to react to the obvious attack. Using its extraordinarily powerful limbs it jumped a great deal away from Infernape's reach.

"You must have realized forcing your way through won't work against Raikou," Tobias smiled. "Raikou, show them what real speed looks like."

The Pokémon tensed its muscles at Tobias's command and dashed towards Infernape. The Pokémon transformed into a yellow blur as it dashed towards Infernape. The movements suggested that it could even outrun a racecar.

_"What incredible speed! Raikou is as fast as lightning itself!"_

Raikou was irrationally fast. With just a few quick leaps it ended up in Infernape's midst, who was quite startled by the speed. The audience was dumbfounded, for one moment Raikou was at the far end of the stadium, and the next it leapt over its opponent effortlessly.

Ash clenched his fists in reflex. "Dodge!"

Infernape leaped away at the last second before Raikou rocketed past where the fire type once stood. The Beast of Thunder swiftly turned around and lunged at Infernape once again in an attempt to hit the Pokémon with brute physical force.

"Jump!" Ash exclaimed.

The Pokémon jumped in the nick of time as Raikou careened into the spot where Infernape landed earlier. The ape landed a fair distance away just as the lightning Pokémon turned back for another round.

"He's in real trouble," Brock muttered. Infernape was actually slower than Raikou, and was dodging only because of its monkey-like hops and springs.

Tobias smirked as he felt Infernape getting cornered by the second. "Don't let it rest, Raikou!"

The beast made another quick leap at Infernape. The ape slid away, but the beast anticipated his move, made a quick turn and followed up with a jump to rake Infernape with its claws.

"Roll to the right!"

Using its hand as an aid, Infernape pushed itself away from the attacking beast and found itself rolling on the ground. The Pokémon braked itself to a stop, performed a flip, and hastily landed before falling to his knees.

"Now is your chance Raikou," Tobias pointed as Infernape was yet to completely get back to its feet.

Letting out another roar, Raikou lunged at Infernape one more time. Each iteration of the lightning type Pokémon's attacks were getting increasingly dangerous to the fire type Pokémon.

Yet Infernape sprang away from the attack, dodging Raikou's swift jump for the fourth time in a row. Unfortunately its jump was weaker and Infernape was still on its knees when it landed.

Raikou's eyes relished with delight now that the distance between it and Infernape was the shortest it had ever been. The next strike would undoubtedly hit. A similar expression crept across Tobias's face.

Raikou snarled as it prepared to catch Infernape by its jaws and leaped forward one last time and it was as good as ensnared.

Then—

"Mach Punch!"

Raikou and Tobias were so involved in the hunt to catch Infernape that they forgot that their opponent was no Deerling in some forest. This was the Pokémon World Tournament.

A powerful strike to its face knocked the daylights out of Raikou. Not only was the punch unexpected, but the extremely close range caused the blow to hit the Pokémon a lot harder than it would've liked. Infernape followed his assault all the way through and sent Raikou flying towards the trainer's box on Tobias's side.

_"A startling Mach Punch at a close range! Ketchum has surprised us once again!"_

The legendary Pokémon shook its head, trying to recover from the punch that hit like a ton of bricks. Realizing what happened, it glared at the ape and bared its fangs threateningly. On the receiving end, the ape growled something back and tauntingly pointed its thumb at itself as if to say, 'Come at be, bro.'

Tobias on the other hand was smiling. The amount of times he faced some opposition were very rare alone, but to face one in the first match was well… refreshing.

* * *

"Hmm," Alex scratched his chin, as if in deep thought. "Tobias is sure taking his sweet time to get into the battle." For the most part, the trainer was letting Raikou move on its own instincts. But what troubled Alex more than Tobias' inaction was the fact that Infernape was barely keeping up despite having an excellent trainer at command. It showed that the only power difference in this battle lay in the huge slant of natural strengths.

"It seems so," Professor Oak frowned in agreement. "I wonder if Ash can push Tobias into action."

Misty found the Tobias guy's attitude irksome. He had this smug smile on his face despite the fact that the first prized legendary was pummeled and the second one was taking quite a few hits too. It was as if all of this was just a game to him! And worse, it was like no matter how hard Ash struggled, Tobias knew the end result would the same.

If it weren't for the fact that she and Ash were on bad terms, she would have actually yelled Ash to kick his butt.

"Kick his butt Ash!" Iris yelled as she banged her stick against the drum. She rolled up her sleeves and put a foot on the railing before her, obviously irritated by Tobias's attitude.

Misty chuckled to herself. She and Iris were a lot alike.

* * *

We countered Raikou's speed and countered its special attack… so what now, Tobias?

Whatever happens, I have to be on my toes all the time. Since Raikou was extremely fast and extremely powerful, a single mistake could turn out to be fatal for me.

While I'm constantly anticipating his next moves, Tobias's expression suggests that he's enjoying the struggle! Slowly but surely though he's got to realize that he has to up his battle if he wants to win. I'll just watch what he has up his sleeve before going on the offensive.

"Raikou," Tobias swung his hand majestically. "Wild Charge!"

He had Wild Charge all along?!

Raikou began its assault with the same extreme speed it had a few moments earlier. With a blitzing speed akin to a bolt of lightning, the legendary Beast of Thunder charged at Infernape like it did before, but this time it was coming at us with a fatal move.

"Infernape," I ordered the fire type as Raikou was closing in. "Flare Blitz!"

Electricity enveloped Raikou as its pace increased, gathering static charges with every step it took towards Infernape. Soon the static grew into a powerful flux that totally engulfed the electric type until the Pokémon inside wasn't even visible. All we could see was a mass of electric energy blitzing its way towards us.

Meanwhile, Infernape itself was being consumed by the flame on its mane. Quickly that moderate flame took over the Pokémon's body and Infernape, much like Raikou, became engulfed in elemental energy. With a cry befitting of an ape, my Pokémon rocketed towards the opposing force.

The yellow flux and blue flux met each other at Infernape's side of the stadium. As soon as the two fluxes made contact, so did the Pokémon inside them, crashing their heads against each other. Both Pokémon attempted to overpower the other, resulting in a physical struggle between the two. Raikou managed to push the ape back a step thanks to its superior physical strength, but the flaming Pokémon nudged itself forward in retaliation.

"You can do it, Infernape!" I encouraged the Pokémon.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu yelled the same.

Tobias silently watched the struggle. I guess he just wasn't a man of words.

As the two Pokémon continued to push each other, the two fluxes continued to intermix with each other at the intersection, resulting in blue sparks. The blue sparks quickly grew in number as the Pokémon continued to struggle one against the other. Before anyone could even comprehend what was happening, the two attacks exploded abruptly.

* * *

"Infernape!" Ash exclaimed in worry as his Pokémon was sent flying away, forced from the strength of the explosion.

Infernape landed on its back, hard. On the other hand Raikou was pushed back by the explosion, except the Pokémon managed to slide across the battlefield, balancing itself against the force.

_"A tie between Flare Blitz and Wild Charge! This is starting to turn into an exciting battle!"_

"Except," Brock muttered. "They weren't exactly equal."

"Raikou seems to be slightly better," Cilan said, somewhat unsure. "Isn't it?"

"Yes," Alex nodded. "We're quite lucky Infernape didn't receive as much damage from that." It was quite a reckless move, one that he surely wouldn't have made, but this was Ash's style. He'd rather counter the opponent's move with his own move than try going defensive.

Thunder, Wild Charge. So far, both of Tobias's moves were revealed to be electric type. One was a long range move, and the other one used the Pokémon's immense physical strength. Ash would most likely have trouble with the latter than the former, but he could try countering Wild Charge with a long range move like Flamethrower. So why didn't that happen?

Ash had revealed Mach Punch, Close Combat, and Flare Blitz. If Ash had Flamethrower on Infernape, then he definitely would have used it by now. The fact that he hadn't seemed fishy. He must have rotated the move for something, but for what?

* * *

"Are you okay, Infernape?" I asked, the Pokémon grunted as it stood up. The ape nodded. Judging by his looks, the damage from the explosion wasn't substantial. I don't know by what miracle that happened, but for now what I was just glad the damage Infernape took was minor. "Good," I said, shifting my attention to the battle.

Thunder, Wild Charge… so what's next, Tobias?

As if to answer my question, Tobias made his move. "Raikou, Shadow Ball."

The Pokémon opened its jaws wide and a purple sphere of energy formed. Just as Raikou shot the attack towards us, another sphere formed, and then another, and then another until five Shadow Balls were launched out of the Pokémon's mouth in quick succession. It was almost like a Bullet Seed attack with Shadow Balls.

"Parry it away with Mach Punch!"

Both of Infernape's fists glowed with energy. The five Shadow Balls were easily swatted away by the swift punches. Each redirect sphere ended up landing on the ground with explosive pops.

"Interesting," Tobias smirked at the exchange of moves. "Let's see how you will stop this." His face turned serious, "Raikou, Aura Sphere!"

"Aura Sphere?!" I exclaimed.

Raikou let its jaws open, much like earlier, but its eyes shone with an uncharacteristic blue light, in contrast to its original red color. A strange but familiar blue energy was rapidly shaped into a sphere between its jaws before releasing it as quickly as it formed. The attack was marvelous. Indeed it was the essence of Raikou, its spirit made into an assault against Infernape and I. Aura Sphere needed extreme concentration and a calm mind to use, so only a legendary Pokémon could pull out an Aura Sphere despite lacking the natural inclination to use it.

But what the heck am I doing? There's no time to be impressed! "Infernape," I said to the Pokémon. "You can't dodge Aura Sphere, so block it!"

As Raikou thrust the sphere of life energy at us, Infernape crossed its arms as a means to defend itself. The sphere moved at an incredible speed, even faster than lightning itself, so dodging it was flat out impossible. Before the onlookers could even comprehend that Aura Sphere was released from Raikou's jaws, the attack had already struck Infernape.

The force was incredible. Despite bracing itself for the impact, Infernape found itself on the ground, hitting the field much harder than it expected.

"Infernape!"

* * *

"What an impact," Ritchie blinked after watching Infernape fly away by the power of Aura Sphere. That attack seemed like a football after being kicked in some fantasy football anime, skewed by the wind and elastic motion, and Infernape was the lowly goal keeper who desperately tried to stop it.

"Not to mention it's impossible to dodge," Stephan scratched his cheek. Infernape hardly stood a chance at avoiding the attack. It was as fast as a comet, he felt. "I think Ash's in trouble."

"What?!" Morrison exclaimed, as if he noticed the fact just now. It wasn't far from the truth, but Morrison didn't like seeing the facts. The words 'Ash will win' were deep etched into his mind, and anything showing the contrary just shocked him.

"Aura Sphere is a really cool move," Cameron said, owing to the fact that it was one of his favorite moves, credit to his Lucario. "The only way you can counter it is by using a long-ranged move before it hits." What was odd is how Ash didn't do so. He had enough experience against Aura Sphere attacks thanks to facing his Lucario in the Unova League, so was there a reasonable explanation for why Ash was still hiding his fourth move?

* * *

Infernape gritted its teeth as it stood up. Getting hit by the Aura Sphere was something the Pokémon didn't like much. "Calm down buddy," Ash warned the Pokémon, a frown on his face. "We have to wait till the right moment to launch that attack. We won't have a second chance, remember."

The Pokémon shook its head before turning to Raikou. The down side was there weren't many ways to handle Aura Sphere, Ash thought. But the bright side? Raikou had finally revealed all of its cards. There was a general plan in Ash's mind to deal with Raikou, but more importantly he needed a way to handle Aura Sphere.

Meanwhile Tobias noticed the amount of trouble Ash had with that Aura Sphere attack. He knew a sure-hit move would severely hamper Ash's attacking since most of his strategy two pronged. One element involved dodging Tobias' attacks and the other involved exploiting every opportunity to throw in a Mach Punch or a Close Combat. So basically, Tobias' answer to Ash's strategy was simple.

"Raikou," Tobias ordered. "Aura Sphere."

"Charge in Infernape," Ash replied. "Counter Aura Sphere with Mach Punch."

Infernape reacted immediately. Taking huge, swift leaps, Infernape lunged with his fist reeled back while the Beast of Thunder opened its jaws for the unavoidable Aura Sphere.

But Infernape was swift. Even before Raikou properly prepared the blue sphere of energy, it had reduced the distance between the two Pokémon by half. That was when Raikou launched the attack. If Infernape Mach Punch could be described as sonic fast, then Raikou's Aura Sphere could only be described as lightning fast, for it covered the same distance the ape did in a fraction of the time.

Infernape threw its fist at the upcoming move, still a few long strides away from the ultimate target. The two moves met, halting Infernape's advancement. The fire and fighting type Pokémon intended to parry the attack away much like it did with Shadow Ball, but that feat was nearly impossible. For one, Aura Sphere had a much more momentum than Mach Punch and Aura Sphere never leaves an intended target once it has been locked in. Aura behaved like magnetic attraction so no matter how hard Infernape tried to push it away, it repelled with even more force. There was a slim chance for martial artsists to deflect Aura Sphere, but without practice that ability simply wouldn't yield results. And in this case, when that sphere of energy is pierced by another attack, the energy would detonate instantly.

* * *

Morrison blinked. "Uh…." He trailed off, slowly comprehending the fact that Ash was indeed getting attacked back. "I guess you're right," he scratched his cheek.

A rush of wind enveloped Infernape thanks to the release of Aura Sphere energy. It didn't last too long and the dust settled soon enough, revealing the Pokémon standing inside it.

"Ah," Ritchie gasped at the sight. Infernape was standing still, its right fist rigid in the air. On closer inspection, the Pokémon wasn't quite as stoic as it appeared. The Pokémon's hand trembled, its teeth were clenched, and the right portion that was exposed to the explosion was bruised. Judging by the fact that Infernape's right knee was about to collapse, it was pretty obvious that the Pokémon had received a good amount of damage.

"That's some damage isn't it," Cameron said, nodding to himself in assurance.

"Well it seems fine now," Stephan frowned. The damage wasn't enough to put the Pokémon down, but Infernape was noticeably straining to remain standing. Considering that Infernape had reduced most of the impact with Mach Punch, the fire type should be able to stand a couple more of these. "But, I wonder how will he keep up from now on."

"I know Ash," Morrison said in an assuring tone. "There must be some plan in his mind if he's trying this. He doesn't look desperate or anything."

Ritchie agreed. Ash's gaze told him that he still had some tricks up his sleeve. Besides, Infernape managed to halve the distance between Raikou before it could even launch an attack. So if Infernape could attack again, this time Mach Punch will hit before Aura Sphere launches. "Yes, I guess Ash wants to hit Raikou before he Infernape takes too much damage."

Morrison beamed at this. "Now that's a strategy I'd expect from Ash." The main reason Morrison liked Ash was because they had such a similar attitude in battle. Just like Morrison, Ash was headstrong and wouldn't hesitate to go head on against the enemy.

* * *

"Infernape, Mach Punch!"

Infernape cried in excitement, resuming its previous pace. Yes, that was our plan for Aura Sphere for now. All we had to do was take on one Aura Sphere and everything else will be fine.

Tobias on the other hand was having mixed reactions from our move. He was slightly happy to see some damage, but even he could comprehend the fact that Infernape would be right onto Raikou by the next move.

"Raikou, Aura Sphere!" Tobias exclaimed, finally getting into the serious mood. Raikou slowly concentrated, formed the energy in the gap of its jaws, and its eyes slowly turned blue from red.

"Do you best Infernape!" I shouted.

The gap between Raikou's jaws glowed with a mystic light as a small sphere took shape—

Infernape only one leap away from punching Raikou—

"Now!"

A punch with the power of a moving truck hit Raikou in the face, knocking the daylights out of legendary beast for the second time in this battle. The punch sent Raikou sliding away, but the Pokémon used its claws to anchor itself firmly on the ground. The sphere between its jaws was still glowing.

"Once more!" I commanded right after.

Infernape jumped at the retreating Raikou once more and struck with yet another punch, pushing the Pokémon even further back.

"Keep those punches coming! Close Combat!"

Tobias gritted his teeth. At this rate, Aura Sphere would never be launched. "Dodge, Raikou."

Infernape sprang towards Raikou intending to pummel it with more punches but the other Pokémon had no desire to let that happen. At this point, holding onto Aura Sphere was more of a hindrance than a help, so it let go of the sphere and jumped away from the monkey with a single leap.

Realizing that the legendary was slipping out of Infernape's grip I exclaimed, "Mach Punch!"

Mach Punch was our means to close the gap while Close Combat was amazing at dealing damage at close range. In other words, if I wanted to land as many hits on Raikou as possible, I had to force it into a corner with Mach Punch and then use Close Combat when we got close enough.

Just as I anticipated, Infernape's Mach Punch closed the distance alright, but Raikou still managed to duck underneath the attack. Now the stage was set and our winning pattern could repeat. So basically, I would have to order a—

"Close Combat!"

_"It's a continuous switch between Mach Punch and Close Combat! Ketchum sure knows how to mount some impressive offensive pressure!"_

The melee move rained on Raikou with multiple kicks and punches sent to and received by the electric type. Infernape's first attack was a straight right punch at its snout.

SMACK!

The second attack came towards Raikou's chin in the form of Infernape's left side kick. Infernape took a step back after that, giving Raikou time to lash its fangs at Infernape, which the monkey ducked aside like an expert boxer. Using the ducking momentum he launched a left punch on Raikou's neck.

SMACK!

Raikou felt its weight shift in response and tried to face Infernape again, raising its forelegs to strike. Infernape hastily ducked and returned with a punch that was blindly thrown to hit Raikou on the cheek, the Pokémon managed to duck away from such an ill-timed move. Without hesitation Raikou jumped back just as Infernape lifted its right leg to kick.

Raikou may have taken a few hits, but the legendary Pokémon was quick to familiarize itself with Infernape's movements, making them easier to dodge. But then—

Infernape took a swift step forward. Raikou thought that this was just a blind, foolish move that Infernape concocted in desperation, so the electric beast jumped at the fire type. Needless to say the Beast of Thunder had not expected an extremely powerful right punch to its gut. The attack knocked the wind out of the beast as one could notice from the sudden growl when the punch landed. As the Pokémon withered with pain, Infernape turned around and struck the Pokémon once more with its left elbow for good measure, causing the beast some intense pain.

The electric type staggered in pain and Infernape finally took a moment of rest after the constant barrage of attacks. Infernape jumped back a reasonable distance just as Raikou tensed up to collect itself, and I let out a breath of air I hadn't realized I'd been holding for so long. Here I thought we had this matchup handled.

But of course, we didn't really consider how extremely temperamental Raikou was.

* * *

_Rrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwrrrrr!_

If Raikou's roar was anything less than frightening before, its bellow was surely frightening after Infernape landed dozens of punches on the Pokémon. Raikou opened its jaws wide and let out a beastly roar that literally shook the ground apart. Infernape with all of its bravery even took a step back in fear.

The clouds echoed Raikou's cry. The sky which had remained merely a spectator to the entire battle now decided to join Raikou by sending a bolt of lightning towards Infernape. The fire type had to jump away from the electric shock to save its brown skin.

"What in the world is going on?" Alex wondered with a hint of terror in his voice. The sky was flashing with electricity and the clouds began to circle about each other, rather than standing still like they had a minute ago. Without a doubt, the clouds were responding to Raikou's rage .

Ash was equally startled. Looking at the sky he wondering if another bolt of lightning would pop out of nowhere and even surge through his own body. Infernape on the other hand was glaring at Raikou, mostly because it was startled by the arcane cries of the Beast of Thunder.

A smile crept across Tobias's face. It was as if he predicted something like that to happen, like he knew that Raikou's true strength came out when it was burning with rage.

"I-It's scary," Dawn said, holding onto Buneary tightly. Good thing too. The brown Pokémon nearly fell through Dawn's grasp when the Raikou let out its menacing roar.

* * *

"It's now or never," I gritted my teeth. Raikou was in a terrible rage, and it was scary to be honest. But this was a good time for us to attack it. "Infernape, you can do it!"

As a response to Raikou's roar, Infernape let out its own battle cry. The flame on its head grew slightly larger, clearly indicating that the Pokémon was ready to put more into its next attacks. "That's the way," I clenched my fists.

Infernape's cry got Raikou's attention. It silently glared at the Infernape responsible for its pain with its jaws slightly open.

"This is where the real battle begins Ash," Tobias smirked. "Raikou, go!"

The beast didn't need a second word. It pounced at Infernape, closing the distance between them in just one step.

That's right. It's time to step up my offense too.

"Dodge and use Mach Punch!"

The beast landed with a ground shaking impact but Infernape slid away from where it once stood. However, instead of attacking Infernape blindly, Raikou paused to watch the ape move. The fire monkey prepared its right fist and lunged at Raikou to land the super-fast punch on the legendary beast for the umpteenth time.

"Jump, Raikou!" Tobias exclaimed all of a sudden.

What?!

Infernape's fist ended up striking thin air as the Pokémon's target, the beast, had already jumped away. The Pokémon was alarmed to find its target missing.

"Above you, Infernape!"

The monkey looked up and gaped in surprise to find Raikou high up in the air, its shape quickly growing larger.

"Let's finish this battle with one move," Tobias smirked. "Raikou, Wild Charge!"

* * *

Time froze at the moment when Raikou managed to gain a definitive upper hand for the first time since the match began. The beast was directly above Infernape while the monkey watched the Pokémon in awe with its mouth wide open.

"This is bad!" Brock exclaimed, getting up from his seat. Infernape was a sitting duck, entirely confused by the sudden jump by Raikou. A Wild Charge from such a strong electric Pokémon would surely deal massive damage to Infernape.

A lightning landed from above and struck Raikou engulfing the legendary Pokémon completely in electricity. The Pokémon gave out its majestic roar one more time as the electricity it took from the lightning slowly shrouded the Pokémon.

Misty, Dawn, Iris, Professor Oak, Delia Ketchum, Alex, Cilan and Brock all had the same despondent expression on their faces, their mouths open in horror, their bodies were frozen with fright. Dawn gripped onto her Buneary a lot tighter than she should, Iris suddenly paused her drumming, and Misty gripped the chair's arms unconsciously. Delia's finger remained on the camera's button, unable to click it. Alex who usually remained calm and collected couldn't help but grit his teeth. Cilan was on the edge of his seat, half sitting-half standing. Brock snapped into rigidity, his body frozen like a tree.

But Ash Ketchum smiled.

"Infernape," Ash waved his hand. "Overheat!"

Engulfed in an electric flux, Raikou was falling onto Infernape's position in no time. The beast was only a foot away from the fire type.

Infernape's body grew extremely red as a white-hot heat enveloped the Pokémon.

Raikou was only a few inches away from the fire type. The electric aura would land on the monkey any time and finish it off in a single hit with Raikou's immense physical strength. Then when all was lost for sure, Infernape opened its mouth and—

A giant flame erupted from the Pokémon's mouth. The flame was so bright and huge that not only did it engulf Raikou's immense expanse completely, it managed to light up the otherwise cloud-darkened stadium with a bright orange light. The electric aura that surrounded Raikou disappeared amidst the flames.

What people could hear at that moment were the whimpers of a ferocious beast, and a cry sent from Infernape's vocal chords as it shot out the extremely powerful flames from its mouth. The blast from the flames was so powerful, that not only did it nullify the electric field that surrounded Raikou, it completely overpowered its attack and threw the heavy weight Pokémon away. Just as the flames died down, Raikou crashed on the ground a few feet away from Infernape.

A unanimous silence engulfed the arena. Not a single word was heard, nor a single sound. Of course, that was only the silence before the storm, and the crowd exploded with cheer right after.

"Now that's what I call a critical hit!" Alex jumped from his seat. An Overheat taken from such a close range, literally inches away, would do more damage than anyone could conceive without experiencing it. That was the perfect way to use Overheat.

"Ash outdid himself once again!" Cilan said, humming in joy. Today's battle was just one surprise after the other.

"Yeah," Brock nodded, a smile on his face as he sat down. "He saved Overheat till the last moment, just like when he battled Articuno!" Brock still admired the original strategy even though he saw it fail the first time. In the battle against Articuno, Charizard managed to defeat it without Overheat, but that fateful day sealed the strategy forever.

_"What an amazing move! Ketchum has turned the tables one more time! This is an amazing battle of pure power and strategy!"_

Misty chuckled at this, "I never thought Ash and the word strategy would ever be associated."

"Me too," Iris said, giggling at the fact that she and Misty were thinking along the same lines. On that note, the two girls proceeded to give each other a high-five.

Delia who watched the scene smiled, "They're copying us, Dawn."

Dawn replied to that with her own smile. The tense atmosphere that had engulfed the spectating group before had finally disappeared.

Raikou lay on the ground, motionless. Its body had suffered first and second degree burns in some places, the bright yellow skin of the Pokémon was charred black, and its front belly, neck, and chest were deeply singed having been exposed to Overheat directly.

Professor Oak watched the field intently. He was equally happy at the surprise move Ash just pulled as he was watching the crowds reciprocate the excitement. An Infernape defeating a Raikou was not an ordinary feat after all, Oak thought, but somehow the atmosphere on the battlefield however was slightly different.

The referee stood very still, paying more attention to the sky above than observing Raikou's consciousness on the ground. Indeed, even Ash and Tobias were doing the same, feeling the wind pick up and moisture collect.

For some reason, the clouds remained intact despite the fact that Raikou was severely injured. That could only mean one thing.

This battle wasn't over.

* * *

"So it can even survive an Overheat from a close range huh," I muttered as I watched the clouds refusing to go away since Raikou crashed after Infernape's surprise attack. It was unfair. Any ordinary Pokémon without a type advantage should have been defeated by now, especially after such a close range Overheat. Raikou neither had a type advantage nor could it dodge the attack, took my Pokémon's attack at point blank and still…!

The Pokémon's previously motionless legs twitched a bit, gathering the attention of everyone nearest to the field. Those who were watching from the stands settled down silently, realizing the battle wasn't over.

The legendary beast let out a low growl and pushed its legs against the ground in an attempt to stand. The Pokémon's legs wobbled twice before it could upright itself again. It was severely injured, but was still able to battle.

Tobias merely smirked at this. It was as if he'd known from the start how this battle would play out and he stood just as proudly as ever. Thankfully I could tell that the move I made earlier left a hint of distaste in the expression on his face.

"We'll finish them off with the next move," I encouraged Infernape, who nodded. Raikou may have managed to stand up but that Overheat did a lot of damage. It shouldn't be able to attack with the same force again, so I could try finishing it with Flare Blitz or Close Combat? But using Overheat took a lot out of Infernape's stamina too.

"Infernape, Flare Blitz!"

The flame on Infernape's mane grew larger as it prepared the powerful physical move, Flare Blitz. That was when something surprising happened.

Something cold pricked my nose and caught my attention. I lightly touched the spot with my finger and I realized it was a droplet of water. That was when more of these droplets started to fall. Even the fire type stopped the move it was preparing out of surprise and looked at the sky.

The clouds were circling around the arena again, lightning cackled, and the sky turned greyer than ever. The water drops at one moment fell occasionally, then the next moment they fell with fervor, drenching us all of a sudden. Within just a few moments, we were being drenched in water.

"I-it's raining?" I was honestly puzzled. Yes, there were clouds before, but there wasn't any rain! And Raikou's only moves were Thunder, Wild Charge, Shadow Ball, and Aura Sphere. I don't remember it using Rain Dance?

"'Nape," Infernape growled, obviously displeased by the rain. If it weren't for my hat, I wouldn't haven even been able to see anything. For the fire type, the discomfort doubled by the second.

Raikou on the other hand closed its eyes, enjoying the rain as the drops soothed the burns on its body. Like taking cool shower after being exposed by summer sun, the Pokémon's face looked pleasant, peaceful even.

I knew there were many miracles a legendary Pokémon could perform, but I never expected this. I guess using the clouds to make a rain was one of those unknown mysteries.

I took the Pokéball to return Infernape, considering that he wouldn't like standing outside in the rain. "Infernape, re—"

The Pokémon growled, giving me a don't-do-it look, and I figured he didn't want to hide away at such a crucial moment. It made sense. Defeating a legendary Pokémon all by himself was an achievement reserved for only the strongest of Pokémon. I shouldn't just take that prize away from him.

"Alright," I said, pumping with enthusiasm. "Let's finish this Infernape," I pointed at Raikou with my finger. "Close Combat!"

Infernape cried, obviously pumped by the fact that it just brought a legendary down to its knees. Letting out a battle cry, Infernape proceeded for one last time when—

Tobias exclaimed, "Raikou, Thunder!"

"Dodge and charge in!" I exclaimed almost immediately. We had dodged the move once, and we can always dodge it again.

Infernape continued its charge, expecting Raikou to send a Thunder but… nothing happened.

The flaming monkey had the same doubts in mind, but it kept charging regardless. Maybe the Overheat knocked the electricity out of Raikou or something like that? Whatever it was, it was a perfect opportunity for us.

Or so I thought until the sky rumbled…

"What the—!"

The lightning that kept cackling amongst the clouds suddenly shot towards the ground and came straight towards my Pokémon.

"Infernape, watch out!"

The first bolt of lightning crashed on the ground with an explosion and the ape jumped back in fear. Little did we anticipate that that was the beginning of a lightning storm nightmare.

More thunderbolts erupted from the sky. The cloud rumbled once… twice… thrice... so many times as more and more of those attacks from heaven crept around the sky and smacked the ground.

"Just what the hell is going on?" I posed the question to no one in general, to which the referee shrugged in response. He had to cower under a small roof in fear when another thunder almost struck the referee box.

"Infernape, be careful!"

The situation was really bad. The said Pokémon was already busy dodging the electricity that came one after the other, and not only was there rain hampering Infernape's potential, Raikou didn't seem to be actually doing anything. It simply stood there while watching Infernape scamper about with electrophobia.

We can't just keep dodging while they enjoy the show. "Infernape, charge in!" If Infernape was quick enough to dodge a direct Thunder attack coming from Raikou while charging forward, then dodging a thunder from the sky shouldn't be too difficult a task.

Infernape began its brave run towards the opponent, disregarding its own apprehension and trusting me completely. As the lightning continued to rain down from the sky like some sort of divine punishment, Infernape kept dodging each one of them while maintaining its pace. Without hitting Infernape even once, each dodged bolt of lightning crashed into the stadium floor and exploded when they touched, creating a crater in the process.

_"What incredible bravery! Infernape is like a soldier charging through a mine field!"_

I guess the Freddy described the scene perfectly, especially since it was not far from the truth. Every time Infernape's feet touched the ground, lightning struck right afterward. So as the Pokémon leapt toward Raikou, dodging the thunderbolt after thunderbolt, it created the illusion that every step Infernape took was equivalent to triggering an explosive mine. Although, I am pretty sure only my Infernape could survive such a harrowing feat and emerge unscathed thanks to his jumping power.

I glared at Tobias. His expression usually gave away what kind of situation we were in. Infernape was successful in dodging the Thunder and would soon be attacking Raikou. So—

Oh no. At that moment Tobias wore the last expression I wanted to see. He was smiling. That meant he wasn't surprised by the move, but even worse that meant that he had more up his sleeve.

"Raikou," he said, the smirk not disappearing. "Aura Sphere."

"What!" It could use Aura Sphere while using Thunder?!

I shifted my gaze to Raikou, hoping that the Pokémon would stop the lightning shower before preparing the Aura Sphere, but the lightning never stopped. Raikou opened its jaws, preparing the blue sphere of energy for the fourth time in the match. As Infernape continued to struggle past the Thunder attacks, Raikou completed gathering energy and launched Aura Sphere without holding anything back.

"Dammit!" I cursed as the sphere rocketed its way towards the ape.

The attack slammed into Infernape directly, sending the already unbalanced Pokémon flying away. Not a moment later, a Thunder struck Infernape from the sky. In the longest of briefest moments it convulsed in pain as innumerable volts of electricity passed through the Pokémon's body, coursing each and every cell of the Pokémon in the process.

The excruciating moment ended in a flash, but to me it seemed like all of eternity.

Infernape collapsed onto its knees, its body unable to protest gravity as it crashed on the ground.

_"Infernape is down!"_

And then silence engulfed the stadium, the cheers and sounds ceasing immediately. Some were disappointed that the battle had already been decided, others were speechless at the valiant effort. Others still just couldn't articulate how unfair the matchup was from the get go. Raikou was superior to Infernape in every way possible. It was faster, it had more powerful attacks, and it was even able to launch two attacks at the same time. Not only that, Raikou could summon rain to reinvigorate itself while dampening Infernape's flame, the Overheat trump card was played, and there was nothing left. Yes, Raikou outclassed Infernape in every aspect. But—

* * *

The stadium was dark due to the cloud cover that permeated the skies above. The occasional cackle of electricity lit up the stadium for a few seconds but nothing more than that. It was still just around ten in the morning so the flood lights were turned off, so it looked like the epic battle was going on at night. The rain was relentless, not letting a single moment of peace slide intervene, drenching the arena and the people inside it. Puddles of water formed in each of the craters blasted wide by Raikou's Thunder.

Tobias closed his eyes with a satisfied expression on his face. Infernape was a good opponent, and the legendary trainer quite enjoyed its display of power and its struggle against such an incredible force as he. The fire ape had forced his Pokémon to use the best moves and deserved every word of praise possible. Not to mention Tobias recognized that his trainer had surely grown into a fine, fine battler.

The referee examined Infernape for a second, frowning and unsure of what the final word was.

"I hope it stands up," Dawn muttered, jarred by the turn of events. She wished as hard as she could that Infernape would rise just like it did against Paul's Electivire two years ago.

"Don't worry," Alex said, looking at his wife who looked equally shocked at the sudden end. With that, Alex's words gained him the attention of all the people around him. He looked at the field, "I'm not sure how it did in the Sinnoh League," he paused. "But Ash has trained Infernape to endure attacks that would surely put others down for the count."

"What do you mean?" Brock asked, quite confused despite Alex using the simplest of words.

"That," Alex said pointing at the field.

"Oh my," Delia muttered as she looked at the field.

A bright orange light lit the dark stadium like a candle, and the source was a Pokémon lying on the ground with its face still to the ground. The Pokémon's fiery mane engorged in size, and the flames that were once mundane orange intensified into a bright orange-red.

"What," Tobias looked aghast. While he would admit his knowledge about Infernapes was limited, he rightly assumed that the flames around its body should get smaller when the Pokémon faints. Since it was rising, Tobias had to refocus on the battlefield instead of letting out that sigh of relief he was holding. Raikou let out a low growl while watching the opponent.

One of the Pokémon's white-furred fists, ablaze with flames, moved and landed in a puddle of water. The water hissed as it made contact with Infernape's hands and the puddle of water disappeared, leaving nothing but the crater behind. The Pokémon slowly pushed itself up, revealing its face that was buried in the ground.

The Pokémon's eyes were scorching red and the usual brown iris inside had completely disappeared. The flames swayed in the cool breeze created by the clouds above but never lost any intensity—they only grew larger by the second.

_"T-this… what the heck is this?! What is this amazing power coming from Infernape? Could this be the special ability Blaze?!"_

The trainer standing behind the aforementioned Pokémon now grew a smirk on his face. "Tobias," he said at the top of his voice. "The real battle begins now!"

Tobias frowned at the change in developments. "I've never seen a Blaze so powerful like that," he said, seriously commending Ash and his Pokémon. A smile returned to his face. "It seems like we both have to go all out now."

"I'm looking forward for it!" Ash said, clenching his fist. "Isn't that right, Infernape?!"

The Pokémon let out a deep uncharacteristic cry in response. The flames on its head revved in response. Watching it, Raikou let out its own heart-halting roar.

* * *

"Raikou," Tobias said, swinging his hand in full excitement. It was the first time in a very long while since he became _this_ involved in his battles. "Launch Thunder from the sky!"

At its trainers command, Raikou snarled at the clouds. At its command, the sky instantly rumbled once again and multiple bolts of lightning shot for the fire type Pokémon.

"Infernape," I said pointing at the sky. "Let's use that lightning. Spin and use Flare Blitz!"

"What?" Tobias was befuddled by command.

"NAPE!" Infernape cried as the huge flames on its head engulfed the Pokémon in a reddish blue aura, then launching itself into the sky while spinning at the same time. The huge flame around Infernape spun along with the Pokémon, creating a flaming tornado in the process.

The lightning struck at the tornado from the sky, but the swirling flames caught the electric attacks, causing the Thunder to combine with the flames. The blue flames infused with electricity produced a greenish-blue vortex of energy in the process.

_"Wow! Now this is something straight out of a Contest Battle!"_

Not exactly. I mean, nothing in contest battles will ever have anything as powerful as this combination! A Thunder attack from the strongest electric legendary mixed with a Flare Blitz from my blazing Infernape? That's what I would like to call:

"Lightning Blitz!" I exclaimed. "Let's finish this with one last move!"

The bluish green vortex in the sky arced towards the target Raikou who watched the Infernape with jaws wide open. I bet the electric legendary never dreamt of someone using its own signature move against it.

In reality, I had to wait until Infernape activated Blaze to use this move. During our training with Pikachu, Infernape managed to perform Lightning Blitz on Pikachu's Thunderbolt by using an ordinary Flareblitz to power up the move against Pikachu's Thunderbolt—much like Buizel's Ice Aqua Jet. But when we challenged Lt. Surge's Gym during our one year training period, Infernape tried using the move against Raichu's Thunder and their attack managed to overpower Infernape's spinning Flare Blitz and defeat him immediately.

That was when I realized the limitation of this combination: Lightning Blitz can't be used against a Thunder stronger than Infernape's Flare Blitz.

* * *

Raikou took a step back, comprehensively in fear. Being a legendary Pokémon meant being exposed to many dangerous foes and participating in high risk battles, so Raikou knew what to fear and what to laugh at. This was no laughing matter; the move it was facing was atrociously strong. It could knock the legendary Pokémon out in one hit.

"Infernape," Ash pumped his fists. "Go!"

Raikou watched as the bluish green vortex crashed towards the Pokémon. There was no surviving the move.

Tobias gritted his teeth. He didn't expect _this._ He didn't need a second opinion to say that if the attack were to succeed, his beloved legendary would fall to the ground. It was unacceptable. His Raikou can't lose against a regular trainer's Pokémon, let alone in the first round!

Ash was confident. This matchup would be over in one hit and he would emerge ready to take on the next opponent too. After all, the recoil Infernape would take wouldn't be enough to knock it out because Raikou's Thunder was supplying half of the energy. This was good, if Ash could keep the momentum, Tobias' team would be defeated.

"Don't underestimate my Raikou!" Tobias snapped for the first time. "Jump!"What happened then was the most anti-climactic move ever. Just as Lightning Blitz rocketed towards the ground, the beast quickly jumped away with all its might and Infernape struck the ground instead of the intended target. It created one of the biggest explosions ever in Pokémon battle history without even making contact with its target.

A bright light engulfed the whole stadium in a stark contrast to the darkness caused by cloud cover. Rubble and dust rose from the explosion as if the ground itself was like a crumbled cookie. Much to Ash's disdain, only some of the stone and dust ever managed to catch the legendary Pokémon. Raikou had very much escaped the most brilliant attack the PWT had yet seen.

Then the light disappeared just as the dust cleared. Apart from the bright orange light of Infernape, the stadium turned dark again. The Pokémon itself was incredibly displeased at the unexpected dodge.

_"What a powerful impact! The field has been blow into bits!"_

Although the commentator's words were somewhat exaggerated, there was a huge hole large enough to fit an Onix inside, not to mention the numerous craters formed by Thunder's impact. All things considered, it was a miracle that the field was generally still usable.

"That was close," Tobias said, silently releasing the breath he held upon. Had he been frozen still in surprise like some other trainers, Raikou would have buried into crater epicenter. His pride and experience thankfully took over, snapped him out of his fear, and helped even the legendary Raikou snap out of its own.

But that said something very important. _The legendary Pokémon_ _feared something_. In that very moment, Tobias decided Ash Ketchum was something else. He could not be underestimated.

* * *

Infernape convulsed in pain due to the recoil from the Flare Blitz, draining the very little stamina left to its very last dregs. Another miss or any hit was something my Pokémon could ill afford at that moment.

And then Infernape lost its footing and collapsed down to its knee. The second we missed our best combination move, this battle turned in Tobias' favor.

"Dammit!" I muttered under my breath. The good news is after watching a move like that, Tobias would no longer let me rest and he would no longer underestimate me as an opponent—the look on his face told me that. But the bad news was Infernape was barely on the verge of staying awake. That meant Tobias would try to attack as quickly as possible and end this battle.

"Raikou," he moved his hand briskly. "Aura Sphere!"

The Pokémon prepared the unavoidable move, an attack that we could counter only by hitting Raikou before it launched. Well, that window passed the second Tobias commanded the move because Infernape had too much distance to cover, not to mention he could barely stand.

"Get up Infernape!" I exclaimed.

The blue sphere was already shaped and was ready to launch. A Tackle from a Rattata was good enough to finish Infernape at this point. If this hits, it's over.

But we can't lose!

"Infernape, counter it with Overheat!"

Thanks to Blaze, Infernape didn't have to charge much for Overheat this time because he was already flared up. The Pokémon opened its mouth to let out the insanely powerful attack at the same moment Raikou launched the blue sphere.

Although Overheat wasn't at full power like earlier, the flames that came out of Infernape's mouth were much larger thanks to the boost from Infernape's Blaze. The flames consumed Aura Sphere in no time and continued forward, hitting Raikou right in the face.

Raikou whimpered in pain because the attack hit its old burn marks. Most of the damage was absorbed to counter Aura Sphere but it still affected Raikou. Had it not been for Raikou's ability to summon the flame extinguishing rain, Infernape's power wouldn't have been hampered and the attack would have done much more damage.

Both Pokémon were now beyond exhaustion. For the record, Raikou had taken an incredible amount of from Overheat, a few Mach Punches that managed to hit, and two flurries of Close Combat. I knew at this point just a Mach Punch would bring it to its knees; a Close Combat would finish it. Other than that, Overheat was needed to counter another Aura Sphere and Infernape's third Overheat should be just strong enough to counter an Aura Sphere or Thunder. Unfortunately Flare Blitz was not an option. The recoil would finish Infernape first—and I wanted my Pokémon to see his legendary opponent go down with its own two eyes.

There was no real option for either of us. Raikou would have to Thunder or Aura Sphere. I had to close the distance with Mach Punch and then finish the match.

Tobias seemed to have made the same decision too, judging by the expression on his face. And on further inspection, he and I both knew these last moves would decide the fate of our battle.

"Infernape, Mach Punch!"

Tobias responded immediately. "Raikou, charge in!"

Charge in? For once Tobias made a move that I didn't expect.

As Infernape ran towards the beast with its glowing fist, the beast used its blinding speed to approach Infernape within no time.

"Attack!" I yelled as soon as the Pokémon were in close proximity.

"Jump, Raikou!"

Ah!

As Infernape prepared to strike Raikou with its mighty Mach Punch, the Pokémon used its agility to jump in the last moment.

Raikou was above Infernape now, leaving the Pokémon stunned in response.

"Raikou, finish this with Thunder!"

No you won't!

"Overheat!"

Raikou's body sparkled with electric energy as the Pokémon charged itself to shoot the powerful electric attack at the ape. The ape on the other hand opened its mouth to let out a still incredibly white hot blast of energy straight at the airborne Raikou. The powerful beam of flames and the lightning struck each other in midair, detonating at the midpoint outward.

The Beast of Thunder landed back onto the field, dragging the residual smoke with it. The two champions glared at each other, both Pokémon wanting to finish the battle as quickly as they could.

I quickly calculated that at any other time, Overheat was weakened to the maximum extent. But factoring Infernape's Blaze ability, another Overheat should still be powerful enough to counter a minor attack. It may not be strong enough to counter Thunder, but our last Overheat should be enough to deal with Aura Sphere.

"Mach Punch!"

That was our best bet. Get in closer and finish the battle once and for all the old fashioned way.

"Raikou, dodge!"

Infernape lunged at Raikou, sending the swift punch at the Pokémon. The legendary Pokémon dodged with ease, letting the punch pass through thin air. But it still served the purpose of getting closer to Raikou.

Now that the distance between Infernape and Raikou was pretty much zero, we could launch our favorite strategy.

"Close Combat!"

Although fighting type moves weren't boosted by Blaze, the excitement pushed Infernape's martial arts techniques to the extreme. Like he activated yet another ability, the Pokémon began its rain of punches one more time.

* * *

Tobias was displeased. His strategy to close down on Infernape failed and Infernape was only inches away from destroying his electric legendary. But now, since dodging the Close Combat was impossible at this range, there was only one thing left to do—join in.

"Raikou, grab Infernape!"

The ape's melee attack had begun. The Pokémon began with a right punch at Raikou's snout, which happened to be Infernape's favorite target. The electric type snarled and attempted to grab the punch like it was ordered to, but the ape took a quick sidestep, and proceeded to punch the Pokémon's jaws from the left.

That single punch sent Raikou staggering while building up the rage inside the Pokémon at the same time. Anticipating Raikou's turn to the left, Infernape moved swiftly away from the beast's jaws and landed a kick on it's right end.

That was it.

Raikou lost its patience entirely, it's stamina finally pushed to the absolute limit. As Infernape prepared to hit Raikou with yet another kick, the beast let out a blood chilling roar.

That bellow of anger caused the ape to flinch and step back. That briefest of brief moments was more than enough for the beast to lunge and grab Infernape's hand.

"Ahhh!" Ash let out a gasp, almost feeling like his own hand was clamped. Getting captured at this stage spelled death.

_"Uh oh! Infernape's been caught by the vicious jaws of Raikou! Could this be end?"_

Tobias waved his hand to signify the final move. "Raikou, finish it off with Thunder!"

The battle was over. Raikou would release Thunder at point blank range—something Infernape wouldn't be able to dodge no matter how hard it tried. The epic battle had finally come to an end with Infernape getting hit by Thunder all over again.

At least, that's what everyone thought.

"Infernape," Ash clenched his fists and pumped them in the air. "Mach Punch!"

Infernape's other hand was still free. That was Tobias's mistake. The Pokémon clenched its fists and it glowed with a bright light. Before Raikou could even think of using its electric move to fry Infernape into unconsciousness, the punch rocketed towards Raikou and hit it perfectly on the neck.

The punch was powerful enough to release Raikou's iron grip on Infernape. Seeing its chance to escape, Infernape jumped back to a safe distance.

Tobias gritted his teeth. "Raikou, don't let it go. Thunder!"

For a moment everyone expected the beast to roar again and let out the powerful electric attack. The roar never came.

The crowd remained silent, watching the Raikou anxiously. Tobias's face expression turned from a frown to curiosity. Taking that as a cue, Ash and Infernape looked at the electric type skeptically, expecting the beast to lunge back any moment.

Instead, Raikou let out a whimper. The Pokémon that was at one moment standing majestically on its four legs, buckled from its royal stance. The legs gave away first, unable to hold its heavy weight any longer. The white skin underneath the Pokémon's jaws made contact with the ground along with a heavy thud.

The red eyes that symbolized the Pokémon's temper were closed and its previously pristine white underside was muddied by the mud and rain. Its legs were tucked under the Pokémon's heavy body after they buckled. The only hint of movement from the Pokémon's side was the slightest expansion of its belly muscles as it breathed air.

Ash closed his eyes briefly as something bright blinded his view.

"Pika," the rodent muttered as they shifted their gaze to the sky.

The clouds that darkened the sky slowly gave way, revealing a bright blue sky. The sunlight that had been obscured from view shone brightly, casting its light onto the crowd that was spellbound into silence.

The referee lifted the green flag.

"Raikou is unable to battle. Infernape wins!"

**Scoreboard**

**(2-6)Ash Ketchum - Tobias (2-5)**

_Staraptor_ - _Darkrai_

**Infernape** - Raikou

_"Raikou_ _is down! What an unbelievable match! Ash Ketchum has managed to defeat Tobias's Raikou!"_

The applause that came after that was stronger than any roar Raikou sent. In just one moment, the silent stadium turned into a mass of noisy chatters and whistles.

Ash watched the crowd cheer with his mouth wide open. He turned to the rodent beside him, "W…We did it," he muttered slowly. A smile slowly crept into his face. "We did it!" He said pumping his fist. He turned to the blazing ape. "We did it, Infernape!"

Tobias watched silently as Ash jumped in excitement along with his Infernape and Pikachu. He was honestly stumped. "I never thought you'd lose," he muttered as he aimed the Pokéball at the unconscious Raikou. A smile crept across his face.

"I've never expected such a wonderful battle from you," he called out, catching the attention of the raven-haired trainer. "Saying you've improved is an understatement."

Yes, his pride was deeply hurt, but Tobias _enjoyed_ it. Not only did it mean he was having fun in this battle, it also meant he needn't hold back any of his tricks. He would be battling at his full power, his Pokémon fighting with all their strength. For the first time ever he could show more and more of his prized legendary Pokémon and their wonderful abilities, with Raikou, Darkrai, and Latios only the tip of the iceberg.

"However, the battle is just beginning," he said, smirking.

Ash narrowed his eyes at that, "Yes," he nodded. "But I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win."

"We'll see about that," Tobias smiled.

* * *

"Amazing," Lucian gasped, even the ever calm psychic elite four quite stunned. "I never thought Ash would be the one to score the first win." Yes, the trainer from Pallet Town was good. But was he good enough to beat a legendary Pokémon in a one on one battle? Until this moment, Lucian thought the odds were incredibly unlikely.

"Ash's burning spirit brought him the win," Flint said, a smile on his face.

"Burning spirit?" Alder laughed. "You use strange words for a young man." He said slapping Flint on the back.

Alder was elated. He expected another crushing performance from Tobias—he expected Raikou to tear apart Ash's team and maybe fall to his fourth or fifth Pokémon. He certainly didn't expect the same Pokémon he sent out first to defeat it. This battle was going to be a real treat.

* * *

Misty was stupefied. Ash had defeated a legendary Pokémon in a one-on-one battle. Yes, she heard from him that his Charizard defeated an Articuno back in the Kanto Battle Frontier, but witnessing it right now was extremely hard for her. Was this the same Ash who challenged a Rock-type gym leader with a Pikachu? Is this the same naïve child who lost in the Indigo league because his Pokémon couldn't even be properly trained?

"Raikou," Alex was ecstatic. Infernape has managed to defeat a Raikou. Alex looked at the scoreboard one more time.

**Scoreboard**

**(2-6)Ash Ketchum - Tobias (2-5)**

_Staraptor_ - _Darkrai_

**Infernape** - Raikou

Just watching the board brought him tears. One year of extreme training was finally paying off. All that hard work he and his son had been through was finally showing some results.

"It'll be amazing if he continues this performance," Brock said. Even for one of Ash's first traveling partners, the thought of Ash defeating Tobias seemed unrealistic. But that opinion changed dramatically after what he had seen just now.

_"Tobias is sending out his next Pokémon. What kind of menacing beast will come forth next? Will we see an even more powerful performance?"_

The crowd fell into silence once again. The battlefield was shining with hope and sunlight. Infernape was still in its Blaze state. Ash was on a roll.

But even then, something told Brock that Ash wasn't going to switch out Infernape. Even though Infernape was extremely tired from battling Raikou and switching would help remedy that, activating Blaze even once is a daunting task. If Ash were to switch out at the moment, Infernape wouldn't be able to activate Blaze again. And looking at some of the injuries Infernape endured, Brock realized that those couldn't be recovered quickly during a Pokéball switch.

The outcome of the battle would depend on whatever Pokémon Tobias sent out next.

Tobias took the third Pokéball from his belt. The man's pride was dented but he was still smiling. After all, that pride wasn't small enough to be crushed by a single loss. Furthermore, the source of all that pride was not due to the way he raised Pokémon or strategized—it lay in mere face his Pokémon were _legendary_. These mystical beasts needed no introduction, their power was revered throughout the land. No, his pride came from bringing them together into one unbeatable, indomitable force.

"Come out and show them your glory, my Pokémon…" Tobias foreshadowed, brushing his red cape aside, clutching a Pokéball tenderly. Tossing it into the sky he yelled out to his opponent.

"The greatest Beast of the Therian legends!"

* * *

**Ash managed to defeat the beastly Raikou with his Infernape's insane Blaze. The battle had begun with a positive note for Ash. Will things continue like this? What other dangerous Pokémon does Tobias have by his side?**

**Next Chapter: Beastly Therian Forme!**

**Whoever guesses the name of the next legendary correct gets a cookie! :p**

**A tidbit for the next chapter: Giovanni will be extremely disappointed when he sees Tobias's next Pokémon.**

**Also, my new story Beyond Truths and Ideals is under plot-construction. It will be more action-esque…and I will copy the Aura concept from 'Sinnoh Revamped'. (Don't sue me Analon, you know how delaying Indian Courts can be.)**

**This time, I am planning to stick to one Poke-girl than try another harem. So, I would like you guys to vote on my poll. Right now, May, Dawn are leading with Misty close behind. But if you prefer Hilda or Iris or Annabel, you might have to vote them to bring them up.**

**Also, I wonder who my 200th reviewer will be. I didn't keep track for the 100-mile stone. It kinda happened fast. **


End file.
